Filling In The Gaps
by The Waiting Ninja
Summary: He’s sick, hurt and has no idea who he actually is. He awakes to a place he doesn’t know and people who seem to want to help him. But are these people really his friends? Or is someone lying to him?
1. Prologue

_(A/N: Hi everyone. I'm finally writing again. I'm sorry to anyone who like my 'Coming to terms' Prologue and were awaiting the next chapter. But due to some issues and a yearlong break, I just lost interest. I might pick it up again, but please don't hold your breath. I like my readers to be among the living. :D  
Anyway maybe this will make for it. A whole new story, I have a new beta and the next few chapters scribbled down. So yay!  
I would like to thank Sandy for beta-ing this for me while I was on the hunted for my new beta. Which I've found. :D  
So anyway, enjoy. ^^)_

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Uhh... Oh god... He didn't feel so good. He couldn't breathe properly. Was someone sitting on his chest? It was so tight. Every breath was an effort; each one he managed was short and pained. As he breathed it sounded wheezy and nosey.

The poor guy's head was swimming. He couldn't move. Not only would his body not let him but he could feel something holding him down to a cold hard surface. He shivered. So cold, everything was so cold. And yet sweat covered his body.

Then there was the pain. His lungs burned with every breath, and if he dared to breath in deep enough to breathe normally, there was a stabbing pain in his lungs that caused him to cough and hurt even more. His whole body just seemed to ache and his head was pounding. What had hit him? A truck? Two trucks?

He cracked his eyes open but soon closed them. The many lights that lit up the room made it a blinding white to him. Something his eyes just couldn't seem to tolerate right now. Then he heard voices but catching everything they were saying just seemed an impossible task.

"There was a ble-" One male voice started.

"-status?" He heard another, a female voice.

"Stable-" "-what's his normal temp-"

"-sure-" "-to live-"

He just caught bits and pieces of sentences, none of it making any sense to him. But at this point he was hit with a sudden coughing fit. It took hold of his whole body. It sounded horrible, and felt twice as bad. He was coughing something up. A lung? Probably not but that's what it felt like. He felt something touch his face. He opened his eyes, seeing a very blurry green container in front of him. Then suddenly whatever was trying to cough up, came out. He hacked it up, right into the container that had been provided for him.

His eyes slid back shut as his coughing subsided. He could breathe little easier now. But he was exhausted and his lungs were burning far worse than before. There was a horrible taste in his mouth. Metallic... blood? What was blood doing there? He groaned pitifully, wanting to just go back into the darkness he had come from.

A gloved hand touched his face. His eyes opened and he flinched away from it. But the hand did not go away, it followed him. His eyes slowly focused on what was in front of him. Only then did he see two cool emerald green eyes meeting his own. They looked at him curiously, her lips moved but he didn't catch what she had said. Who was she? Was he meant to know her?

She seemed to be waiting for something? Had she asked him something? He was exhausted, his eyes slowly started to slide shut. The woman shook him when she saw he was falling asleep. She spoke again but he still didn't catch it. The woman kept trying to keep him awake. After a moment he finally understood some part of what she was trying to say. "-your eyes."

He groaned a little but then he slipped away into a dreamless, uneasy sleep.

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He kept floating in and out of sleep. How much time had passed? He had no idea. Images passed through his mind but he didn't recognise them or even take them in. He just let them pass. When he next woke up, the woman was there waiting for him...


	2. Chapter 1: A Friend

_(A/N: I would just like to thank Mikell for taking the time to review. Thank you! It made my day. =D  
I've gone back and fixed up some mistakes in the prologue but nothing has changed story wise.  
I'd also like to thank my new beta LilNinjaWolf. You've been a big help! Thank you very much!)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtle or any character associated with them. However, when I take over the world, then it will be a different story. ~_^_

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Once more he awoke feeling terrible. Nothing really felt better except for his breathing. That was slightly easier and less painful. A lot less painful. His whole body was in nowhere near as much pain as the last time he woke up, though he felt funny. Light headed and the slight feeling of floating. There was something on his face, a mask of sorts. He could feel air being blown out of it. This helped too.

He also noticed that he wasn't on a cold table anymore. It was softer, comfier. He was still cold but there was a blanket over him, this helped with that. He had been propped up so he was no longer lying flat, but he was still restrained. Not that it mattered, his body still didn't want to move.

"-any improvement?" Came the woman's voice.

"His fever broke again-" Said the other man's voice.

"-yet to see any sign-"

He had slowly been coming round but suddenly a wet cloth that was placed on his forehead brought him round quicker. His eyes snapped open as he was startled by this. Again there were the same green eyes looking back at him. "Morning, Raphael." She said slowly, as if to be sure he would understand her.

He frowned at her. Raphael? Was that his name? He honestly had no idea. Who was he? The woman seemed to catch on to his confusion. "Do you know who I am?" She asked carefully.

He started up at her blankly. She was the woman from before, but he had no idea who she was exactly. After a time he simply looked away from her. Though she didn't seem to want to let the question go so easily. She simply took hold of his head and forced him to look back at her gently. Back into her eyes. "What is my name?" She asked, firmer this time.

He (Raphael?) tried to swallow but his throat was too parched to allow it. "I... I... don't...." He croaked, struggling to speak. "...know." He breathed.

The woman held his head for a moment more before letting him go, her eyes searching his own as if to see if it were true. Raphael then looked away, feeling uncomfortable now. Knowing he should know someone, but not being able to recall their name felt horrible. This could just be one thing of many he was meant to know but didn't. This didn't leave him with a great feeling.

The woman walked away from him after replacing the mask on his face. She had gone over to talk with the guy in the white coat. They were talking too fast and quietly for him to catch what they were saying. Raphael tried to move while she was gone, but his restrains were not making it easy. Though at this point Raphael noticed something that disturbed him. He was green... and had three fingers? The woman and the man didn't look like that. So why did he? Was something wrong with him? This wasn't helping him to feel any better about his situation. Were these people friend or foe? What was he to them?

The woman came back over to him, her hand stroking the side of his face. "Try not to worry, they are only temporary." She tried to assure him. "They will be taken off when we are sure you won't attack us again." She explained, calmly.

Hold on. When had he attacked someone? Why? There had to be a reason he would do something like that, right? "W-Who..." He croaked as he tried to speak, but his throat and the mask were against him. One muffled his speech and the other just wouldn't allow much of it.

She smiled at his question. The man in the room came over to them. He had a cup with a straw in it. "My name is Karai." She said as she took the cup from the man, offering it to Raphael. "I am a friend."

Raphael seemed unsure of this. A friend? Then why had he attacked? She offered him the cup, a straw for him to drink out of. The man removed his mask, but still Raphael hesitated. His throat was calling for a drink; his mouth was sore and dry. So he gave in and started to sip from the straw.

The feeling of the cool water going down his throat was a nice one. No... it was amazingly great. It was such a relief. As he continued to drink, Karai was talking to him. "This is Doctor Moshin. He's been looking after you..." She explained to Raphael as he continued to drink. "You're not very well right now, and you've been hurt. But we'll look after you, keep you safe." She promised him.

Raphael suddenly had to stop drinking at this point; his breathing was growing heavier, more laboured. Maybe he should have that mask back now? Karai frowned a little. "Raphael?" She asked looking a little worried.

His lungs were slowly starting to feel heavier, as if they were becoming full of something else, unable to accept air. "C-can't.." He wheezed. "Breat-"

Karai quickly replaced his mask but it wasn't helping. Raphael moved a little, starting to panic as his breathing grew worse and worse. She tried to keep him calm, but soon it wasn't possible, he felt like he was starting to drown. "Terrapin, tell me what's wrong." Came Moshin's voice.

"Drow-... Drown..." He muffled into the mask, trying to be heard.

Raphael had no idea if Moshin understood, but the guy disappeared. Raphael was quickly starting to grow tired with the effort of breathing, the mask no longer being the help he had before. Something was wrong.

Suddenly Moshin returned, with more guys in white coats. They took hold of him, lifting him off the pillows slightly before lowering him down so he was laying down flat on the bed. The blanket was snatched away from his body, letting the cold in. Most of the people that had come in where holding him still, Karai was at his head, stroking his cheek gently to calm him.

Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his torso. Someone was cutting into him! He cried out in pain, and tried to get up, but he was held in place. When getting away failed, he tried to look up so he could see what they were doing to him, but Karai stopped him. Whoever was cutting into him stopped, they drove another sharp object into the wound. Raphael's cries of pain seemed stuck in his throat, his face however, making it obvious that this was painful.

Then slowly... the drowning feeling was lessening.

Relief flooded through Raphael as he realized that he was indeed going to be alright. The pain was yet to fade as whatever had been stuck into him was still there. Though his fatigue was soon catching up on him, exhaustion taking hold. His eyes were slowly starting to slide shut. "Raphael?" Came Karai voice, she shook him a little.

His eyes opened a little, but he was so tired now. So they easily slide shut again. He could hear people around him talking again. He could make out bits and pieces in his last few moments of lingering consciousness.

"Let him rest-" "-to pucture-" "-plastron." Came Moshin's voice.

"-he'll be alright?" Asked Karai.

"Not sure-" "-his structure might not-" "-close observation."

Then, Raphael slipped away.


	3. Chapter 2: Taken

_(A/N: I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the turtles or make any money from writing about them. Though if I did... I might get enough money to fund newer episodes that are actually good... Really good... 2003 good. =D *plots*_

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The next time Raphael came round, it was to a less calm scene then when he had fallen asleep. No longer was there a faint mumbling of Moshin and Karai discussing things, or even someone trying to gently coax him into waking up. No, they would have been much nicer than what he actually woke up to.

His lungs were burning, his head pounding, and the constant clash of metal around him wasn't helping. Someone was shouting in his ear, tugging at his arm, trying to get him out of bed. He groaned a little, trying to resist them. He was still tired. Couldn't they just leave him be for now? He was so not in the mood for something like this.

Raphael opened his eyes a little to find that his restrains were gone, which was nice. But what he saw next was not so nice. The thing that had been tugging on his arm was a giant turtle?! Holy shit! Raphael froze in complete shock of what he was seeing before him.

The turtle smiled at him, but it had a wide range of emotions in his blue eyes behind the orange bandana. Happiness, relief and urgency? The smile on the turtle's face looked like one many wouldn't be able to help but smile at. But Raphael, despite seeing such a smile like that, could not smile back. What was going on here?!

The turtle was talking to him, but it was too fast for Raphael to actually understand. It turned into a blur and just made his headache even worse. Couldn't this guy just shut up and leave him be? The turtle didn't seem too happy now. Raphael had been resisting him, just wanting to curl back up and go to sleep. But the turtle didn't seem to agree with this idea, only pulling harder because of it. "Don't..." Raphael rasped tiredly.

Raphael's whole body was sore, aching from a cause he still couldn't remember, his breathing laboured even with the mask on. He was in no state to go anywhere. Why should he when Karai was looking after him, helping him to get better? But yet the turtle still wanted him to get up. Not gonna happen. Where was Karai anyway?

Raphael looked around and found her locked in battle with another turtle. This one was different from the first, but not in so many ways. His skin tone was different and he had a blue bandana instead of an orange one. Raph had no idea why... but he felt that this turtle would probably not be so loud in trying to wake him as the orange one had been.

What was happening here?

Suddenly the orange wearing turtle stole his oxygen mask. Raphael looked at him, giving him a pleading look to just leave and give the mask back. But the look the turtle gave him was so sad. It pulled at Raphael's heart. He didn't know why exactly. He didn't even know him. The turtle just shook its head and tried to explain something to him. But again it was far too fast for Raphael to even understand.

In vain, Raphael struggled with turtle, trying to get his mask back. His breathing quickly becoming shorter, even more laboured and pained. The turtle was faster though, easily keeping it out of Raphael's grasp. Suddenly, while he was distracted in his efforts to get the mask, the turtle took the moment to wrap his arm around him and start pulling him out of bed.

This time Raphael couldn't resist. He just didn't have the energy. Once off the bed, Raphael tried to struggle, to get away. But the orange turtle held him fast. One arm around Raphael's waist and the other forcing his around the turtle's neck. Quickly it became obvious he wasn't getting free without help. He wasn't even standing up; the turtle was holding him up. His legs just refused to take his weight. So how could he be expected to get free if he couldn't even stand? "Ka-Ka..." He tried to call out, but in the end he just fell victim to a coughing fit.

Raphael was vaguely aware of some shouting going on around him, then a small hissing sound filled the room. When Raph opened his eyes, not actually sure when he had closed them, all he saw was smoke. His coughing only grew worse at this. He couldn't breathe! Please... just let him have his oxygen mask back.

Someone suddenly heaved him onto their shoulders. It wasn't comfortable at all. It restricted his chest even more than it had been before. His breathing was now nothing more than small gasps in between his coughs. He just couldn't take a deep breath to save his life right now.

Whoever had him was moving now, but Raphael found himself not really caring as his vision started to grow blurry and blacken. He was quickly losing consciousness and didn't have the strength needed to resist this. He could vaguely hear Karai's voice and she did not sound happy.

His last few thoughts of consciousness led him to the conclusion that these turtles were kidnapping him, taking him away from his friend. But why? What did they want with him? Would he ever see Karai again?


	4. Chapter 3: Freedom

_(A/N: I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories, like the one below, about them. So if you are unhappy with how this is going please take it up with the original creator as they are the ones that created the characters (and their profiles) that I am currently torturing._

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When Raphael next came to, he was relieved to have the familiar feeling of an oxygen mask on his face. The soft, steady flow of the oxygen on his face was calming, as well as extremely helpful. Karai must have saved him. She wouldn't let anything bad happen to him, right? She was his friend after all.

But aside from the oxygen mask and a comfortable bed beneath him, nothing was much better. His lungs were burning, his body aching. His breathing was shorted and very painful. However long he had spent off the oxygen and on someone's shoulders had not done him any good what so ever. The area around where Moshin had cut into him was not doing well. With every breath he could feel the wound moving. Why hadn't he felt like this before? Surely they'd have him on painkillers or something...

Someone placed a wet cloth on his forehead. Karai? Slowly his eyes slid open, but not to the familiar white room. This one was dark, and cluttered with medical equipment. Where was he?

Suddenly his eyes fell on the only person in the room apart from himself. It was one of the turtles! This one currently had his back to Raphael. It seemed to be interested in something on the other side of the room. Raphael noticed this turtle wore a purple bandana. It moved to nearby equipment, thankfully not turning back towards the bed. It used crutches to walk around, one foot off the floor.

It was hurt. This was a good thing. Raphael had no intention in staying with these things. They had taken him from his friend and for what purpose? They hadn't even given him a say in the matter. He couldn't just let these things have him. If they wanted him, they'd have to fight for him.

Carefully, Raphael pushed himself up, suppressing a groan as he did. This was the first time he had actually sat up and it only brought a dizzy wave upon him. The feeling just made him want to lie back down. The pain in his body increased with the small movement. Regardless of how bad this was making Raphael feel, he knew he had to press on if he had hopes of getting out of here and back to Karai.

Moving the blanket off him, he carefully swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He paused there, preparing himself for the effort to come. Hesitantly, he removed the mask and placed it on the bed. It might make breathing harder, but he needed to get out of here. As Raphael shifted his weight and started to stand, the bed creaked.

Raphael looked up at the turtle to see it looking at him, Raphael's eyes widened and his whole body tensed, slight fear making itself known. He was caught before he even got to the door. Suddenly he felt very trapped, even if it was just a very simple gaze. The turtle turned to him, using the crutches as support. It looked... relieved? "Raph, you have no ide-" It trailed off in mid sentence, as if noticing how much Raphael did not want to be here right now. "What's wrong?"

Then like that, Raphael got up and bolted for the door. Walking would have been an interesting experience, trying to remember how it was done. So running, was far more eventful then Raphael would have liked. With every step he stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. This wasn't helped when the injured turtle somehow managed to move faster than Raphael, grabbing hold of his arm. "Raph!" He practically shouted at him.

Raphael fully panicked at this point, turning back round to the turtle and punching it right in the face, as hard as he possibly could. The hit itself wasn't very hard, Raphael wasn't up to it, but it was enough to throw the turtle off balance.

As the turtle fell to the ground, Raphael turned to run again. He threw the door open as a hand wrapped itself around, causing him to fall. He cried out as he hit the ground. Raphael looked back to the see the turtle who was now frowning at him was speaking to him. But the adrenaline in Raphael's system was making his heartbeat faster and faster, and that was all he could hear.

Raphael lashed out with his other foot, hitting the turtle square in the jaw. The turtle cried out, but refused to let go. So Raphael continued to lash out with his foot until it finally let go. It was calling out for help as Raphael struggled to his feet.

Wildly, he looked around. He needed to get out of here!! Suddenly a large sliding door caught his attention. He didn't have time for a second guess if the turtle was calling for the others. So Raphael took his chances with it.

When he reached it, he threw it open and ran out. It led to... a sewer?! Raphael found he didn't have time to be disgusted with his surroundings, he had to get going. He took off, running as fast as his legs would allow. Turning down random turns in hope of making himself impossible to track. Though after a short time he was forced to stop. Weakly, he fell to his knees gasping for breath. One hand was on the ground, supporting him and the other was clenched against his aching chest. He couldn't breathe. Soon a coughing fit took hold, forcing him to cough up a hell of a lot of muck.

Uhh... that tasted foul. Unfortunately, he looked at the mess. Green muck... that was meant to mean something. Raphael was sure of it. Though the fact that there was blood there too was even more alarming then the missing meaning. Shit... What was wrong with him?

Now that that was off his chest, he felt a little better; breathing came a little bit easier. He was so tired, but he knew he couldn't stop here. He had to keep going. He had to find Karai. Slowly, he got up and continued to walk, unable to run for the moment.

Nearby Raphael noticed something. A manhole cover. If he was in the sewer, he obviously needed to go up to escape the turtles territory, right?

Slowly, Raphael walked over to the ladder that led to the cover, placing his hands on the rails. Something didn't feel right, but he couldn't explain what it was exactly. Like this wasn't something he should be doing right now. But what else was he meant to do? Let the freaks find him? No thanks.

So without a second thought he started to climb the ladder, taking his time with his steps as his legs were not as steady as he would have liked. Then suddenly he heard the sound of footsteps nearly. Raphael hurried his climb, pushing the cover out of the way when he reached the top. It took him a moment, but he managed it. Once out of the sewer, he quickly moved the cover back.


	5. Chapter 4: Leap of Faith

_(A/N: I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them. However, it would seem that the world does not revolve around writing but instead money. So thus I know what I must do... BECOME THE SOLE HEIR TO THE TMNT FRANCHISE!! ... Or stop spending the money I earn... either way. *Shrugs*_

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Now, where was he? There was nothing around him to give him a clue to his location, only that he was in an alleyway. It was dark with only the nearby streetlights to help him see, so it was obviously some point at night.

Raphael didn't dare hang around here too long in case the turtles had heard him moving the manhole cover. So without any other thought for his surroundings, he ran. Using the same technique as in the sewers he took random turnings down different alleyways, yet again he didn't get far though before he was caught by another coughing fit. This one passed easier than the other one thankfully. Though the wound Moshin had made hurt like hell. Raphael glanced down to see bandages covering it, but blood was seeping through them.

With a heavy sigh, Raphael put his head in his hands. Where was he? How in the world would he find his way to Karai? Then he felt something with his fingertips. Bandages. Bandages on his head. When had he been hit in head? Before he could remember? It had to be. It explained why his head had been hurting for as long as he could remember.

As Raphael glanced back down at his wound, he noticed his chest was not... well... a chest. Or at least, not a normal one. What in the world was he? Green, three fingers, strange chest. This was too much. It was only causing his head to hurt more to think about this. He could think about it when he was safe.

Slowly, Raphael got to his feet once more, heading for the street. Maybe someone could help him? Just to help him find Karai, that's all he was asking for. Nothing more.

As Raphael looked to the sky once more, as if looking for a sign of what he should do exactly, he noticed the sky was starting to lighten slightly. Was the sun coming up? He had another bad feeling about that. As if the sun meant something bad, but he wasn't sure what.

As Raphael approached the street he leaned on the wall of the alley for support. Maybe running all that way was a mistake. He felt sick, his breathing was worse than ever and his body was hating him for all the movement since he last woke up. He closed his eyes, tempted to just take a nap there. But he knew that was stupid. The turtles would find him.

Suddenly, the sound of something being dropped and glass breaking made Raphael's eyes snap open and look towards the street. There, he saw an elderly lady and the shopping bag she must have been carrying, now spilled all over the sidewalk. Was she okay? Raphael took a step forwards to check but stopped when he noticed the look in her eyes. They were wide with fear, her small frame trembling and she looked like she might be about to start panicking. What was wrong?

As Raphael took another step towards her, she let out a small cry. She started pleaded with him to stay away very quietly. She honestly looked terrified and that hurt Raphael. Was he so different, that he was a monster? She didn't even know him!! Or did she...

He glanced at her, his emotional and physical pain very obvious. He muttered something. A small sorry and ran. Where could he go? Up? Raphael couldn't explain it but he felt he had to go up. He quickly spotted a fire escape and used it. He climbed as fast as he could, but stopped once he got to the top. He had to rest. His breathing had grown heavy again. He was so dizzy. Raphael slumped to the ground, just wanting to rest.

There he sat, shaking slightly, looking towards the sky. Why did this have to be so hard? He just wanted to find his friend!!

The suddenly, he heard a noise. He looked around and saw no one, but he knew they were there. Raphael forced himself up, his body burning with the effort it took. He ran, but quickly found he had nowhere to go! The ledge... another building was close by. Could he jump it? Maybe..

As Raphael became increasingly aware that whoever it was, was getting closer. He ran towards the ledge and jumped. If he hadn't stumbled or nearly lost his footing he would have made it. But that was not the case. Fear quickly took hold as it became obvious he wasn't going to make it. Someone called out his name as he started to fall. The fire escape for the next building was close. If he could just grab that!

Though instead of grabbing his desired level, he fell to the next and his... chest... slammed into the railing. The air was forced out of his lungs as he flipped over the bar and landed hard on the fire escape with a loud metal racket.

There he lay gasping for breath, unable to draw any in, his body trembling due to exhaustion and panic. His vision blurred, his head swimming. What he could make out though was a lot of black approaching him. The black sea parted as something approached him. Raphael's eyes slid shut when he was finally able to breathe in again. Though he couldn't stop coughing. It was a weak, wheeze of a cough but it wouldn't leave him.

Gentle hands stroked his head. He could hear soft, calming words. With what little energy he had, he wrapped his arms around her. It offered him a small amount of comfort. He was safe. Karai had found him. Relief washed over him. She stayed with him for a while, not moving him. She was talking to others, organizing something.

As Raphael lay there, slowly slipping away, he noticed something. Her touches seemed no longer as nice as before. There was something more to them...

That was the last thing he noticed before he lost consciousness and the darkness claimed him.


	6. Chapter 5: Relations

_(A/N: I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them. I am just a fangirl who enjoy peering into their world and poking them with a sharp stick._

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Raphael floated in and out of consciousness for a while. Every time he came to, he could hear the murmur of voices around him. But before he could even begin to try and understand them, he fell back into the darkness.

Images of the turtles floated in and out of his mind, leaving only a dull headache in their wake. The look in the orange one's eyes as Raphael first looked at him, the fierceness that the blue one used to fight Karai, and the concern the purple one showed... What did this all mean? Raphael had no idea.

Slowly he became aware of things around him. An oxygen mask on his face once more, but that did not promise him safety. The turtles had given him that too after all. A comfortable bed beneath him, just like last time. He wasn't restrained or anything like that. It was all the same, except his pain was dull to none existent. Only his head and his lungs still ached.

The bed dipped a little as someone sat down next to him. Slowly, Raphael opened his eyes. Karai? He couldn't help but smile as he saw her. He was safe.

Karai gave him a small smile, but looked a little forced. What was wrong? "You gave us quite a scare, Raphael..." She said quietly as she gently stroked his brow.

"Indeed." Came a voice from the other side of the room.

Raphael looked up to see Moshin walking into the room. The room... was not the one he remembered. It was brown, not white. Japanese painting hung on the walls, a bonsai tree in the corner. Where was he? Everything just looked so... wrong. It was a clean, simple room with very little in it. "W-Wh... ere...?" His slurring voice asked, muffled by the mask.

Despite the fact the small question came out slowly and broken, it was understood. Raphael could see that, but yet they hesitated to answer his question. Karai took a moment as if thinking about the answer she was about to give him, a deep frown across her forehead. "Raphael, this is your room." She eventually replied.

"Mine...?" Raphael frowned at this.

Could this really be his room? Maybe... The Japanese stuff seemed a little familiar. The more Raphael tried to connect the dots, the more it just seemed to slip away. Nothing was clicking. The room just looked... so boring. Surely he wasn't that boring a person, right? Being green meant he wasn't boring when someone looked at him at least.

Moshin walked over to him, picking up a chart on the nearby side table. "Try not to stress too much about your memory." He said as he took a pen from his pocket. "It will come back in time. Stressing will not make it come back faster."

Moshin started to scribble something down on the chart. Raph just frowned at him. Don't stress? He had no idea who he was, he'd been kidnapped, and he was coughing up god damn blood!! He had every right to stress. "Why... Why can't I... remember?" He asked, looking at Karai.

Karai looked up at Moshin as if he knew the answer better than she did. "You had a rather nasty hit to the head." He replied as he placed the chart back down. "Unfortunately this led to a small bleeding in the brain which we didn't catch until it had been there long enough to cause damage. So far we see the only damage is memory loss..."

Raph just started up at Moshin. His brain had bled...? Did they fix it?! "What... happ... ened?"

It took a lot of effort, but his speech was slowly getting better. Less stuttering, but still slurring. One step at a time though. If it wasn't for his breathing being so bad, he would probably be doing better.

Karai continued to stroke his brow gently, starting to move down to his cheek now. She gave him a small smile before it faded slightly. She looked a little sad now... "You followed me and my team to a fight you weren't meant to have any part in." She sighed a little. "You were never the fighting type, but lately you've been trying to prove yourself for god knows what reason. We were trying to stop a street gang from carrying out an attack, but then you came. You weren't there long, but as their leader fought you, they hit you in the head. Unfortunately, I was unable to reach you in time..."

Moshin took this moment to chime into the conversation, taking his attention away from Karai. "You had not actually told anyone you had not been feeling well before this fight." He didn't look too pleased with this at all. "So unfortunately, when you were brought to me, we discovered you were worse off than just a hit in the head. There I discovered you had pneumonia. Perhaps if you had not been ill, you would have fared better. Or at least well enough not to get such a hit in the head."

Raphael frowned up at Moshin. Well it explained a few things... just a few. He thought about what he had been told. The street gang thing seemed familiar, but the rest of that didn't fit. When he had beat the turtle, hurt him.. It felt natural. But yet apparently he didn't like to fight. Maybe it was just because he had panicked and been a little, tiny bit scared. That was probably it...

But there was one thing that was really bothering Raphael right now. His kidnapping was bothering him, the fact he was green was bothering him, the fact he had no memory was bothering him. But right now there was one that topped all that. The old woman in the street. Her expression still fresh in his mind. Her eyes were full of things that made him sick. Fear, shock, and pleading. It hurt him and yet it wouldn't leave him. Why would Karai care about him and another person look like he was about to maul her? "You..." He said to Karai. "You said you... were my friend... why?"

Karai did not seem to have expected this question. Nor did it actually look like she wanted to answer. Her hand stopped in mid stroke, a frown appearing across her forehead. Her hand cupped his cheek, but he could feel how tense the hand was, how tense she was. Her green eyes had an edge to them now. No longer the kind, caring ones he had seen before. This confused Raph and made him feel very uncertain. In the end she withdrew her hand. "Our relationship is a little closer than that." Karai said finally as she got up from the bed, a very slight bitterness entering her voice.

After that she did not look at him, instead she looked like she was going to leave him now. Was what he said wrong? He could actually see how tense she was now, her hands clenched as if ready to hit something. Raphael could only watch as she took several deep breathes as if preparing herself for the answer she was about to give.

Karai did indeed leave him, but not before giving her answer. Her voice had turned even more bitter and held some resentment. But Raphael didn't even notice that as the words passed over her lips. One that left him shocked, unable to believe it. Had he heard right? Could it really be?

He was... her little brother?!


	7. Chapter 6: Unhelpful Answers

_(A/N: I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D_

_Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Uni got the best of me. That and this type of chapter is annoying to write. Grrr... _)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them. I am merely a figment of your imagination, writing stories to annoy you.)_

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Raphael lay there, staring at the door Karai had just disappeared through. At first he seemed to be calm about what had just been said, but deep down anger was starting to grow. He couldn't believe what he had been told was true. Her brother?! They didn't even look alike, so how the hell was that even possible?!

Moshin seemed to be trying his best to manage now that he was alone with the turtle. Though he hardly seemed as sympathetic as his words were probably meant to be. The fact there was even an attempt to pity him, calm him, or anything like that put him on edge. "Raphael, please understand how hard this will be for those around you." He said. "To find someone you-"

"Hard for.. them?!" Raphael snapped. "What do ya.. mean hard for.. them!?"

Raphael had snapped, his anger now quickly bubbling to the surface. His breathing had picked up in pace, the mask aided him slightly, but only slightly. He started to push himself up off the bed. He ignored the sharp pain from his torso. "How do you.. think I feel..? I'm the one.. who can't remember.. a god damn thing..! I'm the one.. who was taken.. I'm the one.. who can't breathe!" He snarled at the doctor.

Moshin was quick to try and stop Raphael from getting up. "Please, you shouldn't be moving. You need to rest." He tried to reason.

But Raphael wasn't listening, he kept trying, struggling in Moshin's grip. Moshin purposefully placed a hand on his wounded area of his chest. Raphael snarled at him, this only causing him to struggle more then get him to actually stop. "How the hell.. could she be my.. sister?!" He demanded. "Huh? I'm god damn.. green! What the hell.. am I?"

He needed to know right now what he was. An experiment? A freak of nature? What?! Moshin frowned at him. "Raphael.. have you yet to see your own reflection?" He asked carefully.

Raphael just stared at him, his struggles subsiding for the moment. Reflection? No. Sorry, when he was running for his life he forgot to look in the mirror to make sure he hadn't messed up his hair. When the hell had he had the time to look at his reflection?! Sensing Raphael's answer, Moshin continued to speak. "I need you to calm down, you are not doing yourself any favours." He explained. "If you can calm down, then I can explain. It would seem that Karai is.. unable to explain things to you for the moment."

Raphael could tell that Moshin was not happy to be left with the job of explaining things. Reluctantly, he stopped his struggling, though his eyes were still on Moshin, waiting. Moshin took his hand away from Raphael's wound, but still kept pressure on his shoulders just in case it would seem. "Technically you are not Karai's real brother. Instead you are more of an adopted brother."

Really? Thanks genius, as if he hadn't thought of that. Raphael was not amused to say the least, but he stayed silent waiting for Moshin to continue. "When Karai was younger, she had a pet turtle. One day she had been playing in one of the labs her father owned and there was an accident. Her pet turtle.. mutated. He changed into something more human like. He changed into you.." Moshin was watching Raphael carefully now.

Raphael lay there silently, even more shocked now. He was.. a turtle.. Moshin wasn't doing a very good job of explaining things, instead he was pretty much just being down right blunt. "Wait.. What?" That couldn't be right.

The things that kidnapped him had been turtles, and if he was a turtle, what did that mean? Raphael had a really bad feeling now, his headache growing even worse. "I'm.. a turtle?" He muttered.

"Raphael, I wish there was an easier way to say this, but yes. You are rather turtle-like." Moshin confirmed.

"But.. the other turtles..?" He frowned, trying to make sense of it all.

"Unstable clones I'm afraid. One of your first doctors had been using your DNA for experiments. Though it would seem these turtles are not as strong as yourself. They hurt easily and will not live as long as they should. They have been trying to take you for years now, to try and fix their problem." Moshin continued.

This was too much information in one go. A little overwhelming, more than a little. Clones? Experiments? Kidnap attempts? "No.. That can't be right.." Raphael couldn't believe it.

But... the turtle, the purple bandana one, he had been hurt. It explained why they were hiding after all. Clones that shouldn't exist, hoping to get a hold of the original. Though it all seemed to be.. a little too convenient to be honest.

"Raphael, I know this must be a lot to process, but try not to worry too much." Moshin said. "When your memory returns, you'll understand everything. So until then, just get some rest."

Rest? Raphael was tired, but he didn't feel like sleeping. He'd done a lot of that lately.

"I'm going to go and see if I can find Karai." Moshin explained. "She's not exactly coping with this either."

Without another word, Moshin left. Leaving him all alone to his thoughts, with explanations that didn't make much sense, in a room he couldn't remember, and with a thumping headache to keep him company. Great, just great.


	8. Chapter 7: The Friendly Staff

_(A/N: I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them; however I do make money as a local check out chick. *Sighs heavily* If only I could get paid for writing then I could be happy.. Maybe later on in life.)_

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Raphael stared up at the ceiling for awhile after Moshin left him, thinking about everything he had been told. It didn't really make sense, any of it! Then again, the fact he was a giant, walking, talking turtle seemed like a bit of a joke as well. Wouldn't that be nice?

Carefully, he sat up. He looked down at his hands. They hadn't changed. They were still green and only had three fingers. Raphael pinched the back of his hand, frowning at the small sensation of pain it brought. He had hoped that maybe, just maybe, this was all a joke and he was actually wearing a giant turtle suit.

Sadly, it would seem that however much Raphael might wish this was all a joke, it was becoming overwhelmingly obvious that it wasn't.

His hands, he noticed, were rough. Like he used them a lot for something, hard working hands. In fact, he had a few scars on them. Actually, looking down at his body, as he removed the blanket, he noticed he was covered in scars. Karai had said he didn't like fighting, so how did he get all these? Did he do heavy labour or something? Speaking of which, what did he do? Okay, so he was apparently Karai's little brother, but what did he do? What did she do? Missions? But apparently he didn't do those... So what did he do!?

Something was very wrong and it would seem that no one was willing to actually be very honest with him. Raphael saw the purple bandana wearing turtle's face flash up in his mind. He looked so hurt...

Surely a clone who only wanted to use him wouldn't be upset like that if his prisoner was hitting him. The turtle would have been more angry than disappointed if that was the case.

Suddenly, Raphael stomach growled loudly, causing him great hunger pains. Oh god... He was starving. When was the last time he ate? He didn't have a clue.

Carefully, Raphael took hold of the nearby drip stand and used that to help himself to his feet. He hadn't really noticed the drip needle in his arm before, but it hardly seemed important in comparison to his stomach. A little reluctantly, he removed the mask on his face.

Slowly, he made his way to the door, opening it quietly. On the other side stood two bulky men who seemed to be guarding his door. To keep the turtles out? Or to keep him in? The two figures wore some rather nice hats and red torn caps. Though the black shirt and pants weren't too bad either. It was just the long.. red socks that threw him off. Okay.. so they were a little weird. Overall they looked pretty tough. There was a strange symbol on their belts. So... who were these guys? He frowned slightly at the thought, feeling that he should know something about them.

"Nice.. hats.." He commented, grinning a little.

Nice hats? Why did that seem familiar? It seemed a little funny, but why?

"You shouldn't be out of bed." One said to him, breaking Raphael's train of thought.

"I shouldn't... starve but... I feel like... I might.." He wheezed, frowning. "Where's... Karai?"

"The Mistress is busy. If you require food, it will be brought to you." The other told him. "What did you want?"

Neither of these two men seemed to like him. Their eyes were none too friendly, almost glaring at him. Though he didn't feel like he liked them too much either. He couldn't explain it though. Something about these guys just told him that they were definitely not mates.

But he thought about the question they asked. What did he want? Food. But what type of food did he even like? "Karai should.. know what I.. like, right?" Raphael asked them. "Maybe.. ask her.."

They seemed to consider this for a moment. "We will see what we can do, now go back to bed and rest." The first one said.

Raphael didn't move, he was a bit restless and didn't feel like sleeping. But the men didn't seem to wait around for his answer. Instead, they just slammed the door in his face. There was a small click and the door was locked. "Hey..!" He called out, trying to open the door.

It was no good. They obviously didn't want him to leave the room, which didn't make Raphael feel any better about his current situation. They were definitely keeping him in here.. But why? Was it because he apparently attacked someone? Raphael groaned a little. This was not doing his headache any good to try and think about this.

His breathing wasn't any better and he was suddenly feeling light headed. Maybe he should at least get the oxygen mask back on if nothing else. Slowly he walked back to the bed with his trusty drip stand and sat down on the bed. He picked up the oxygen mask and placed it back on, enjoying the air.

Hopefully someone would bring him something to eat soon. Some proper answers would be nice too, but he wouldn't hold his breath.


	9. Chapter 8: Chicken Soup

_(A/N: I return! With a new chapter that will hopefully make the wait worth it. :)_

_I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them. However with Christmas being an expensive holiday I should really look into other means of actually making money with my creativity... .; )_

* * *

Raphael had been dozing when there was a sudden knock on the door. Lazily, he glanced at the door to find Karai and a bowl of soup? Slowly, he got himself to sit up, offering her a small smile.

"I was told that you had requested something to eat?" She asked.

"Yeah..." He replied. "When was... the last time... I ate...?"

Karai shrugged slightly. "I'm actually not sure." She told him. "I had been away for the days leading up to this incident and the cooks are unable to tell me when or if you had eaten at all."

Raphael said nothing on the matter. She saved herself there. What he was looking to do this time round was look for proof that she was either telling him the truth or lying through her teeth to him. "So what... have we got...?" He asked curiously, looking at the bowl as she approached him.

Karai carefully gave him the bowl of soup, obviously ready if he was unable to hold it. "Chicken soup." She replied. "We thought since it had been a few days since you had actually eaten something, and due to how many times you have been sick, it was best to start off small."

He nodded at this as he took the bowl. It made sense. But chicken soup? Why chicken? Did he like that? The bowl felt heavy in his hands, but he didn't drop it or spill it. He rested it in his lap, taking the spoon Karai offered him. "Thanks." He told her.

The smell of the soup was actually rather good and it was making Raphael's stomach growl. Either she knew he liked chicken soup, or it was just a common soup to like. At least either way, he would actually be eating something he liked. "So why... are there... people guarding... my room...?" He asked as he dipped the spoon into the soup.

Raphael was keeping an eye on Karai as he started to eat his soup, wanting to know how she reacted to his questions and how she reacted while answering. He was alert for any suspicious behaviour.

Karai sat down on the end of his bed and seemed unaffected by the question. "Raphael..." She began. "As I told you when you first woke up, you attacked us, you attacked me. Then there was the fact that they, the turtles, actually succeeded in taking you. Until we are sure you are actually okay, I would prefer that we have someone keep an eye on you. Those men are a part of our best guard."

Raphael sipped his soup quietly. It was good, even better on an empty stomach. He was so hungry. The only reason he was probably pacing himself would be how hot the soup was. "Well... why can't.. I just stay.. with you..?" He asked, curiously.

They were family right? Then she shouldn't want him out of her sight, right? Raphael had a feeling if someone in his family was hurt, he would always make sure they were alright. So he knew, rather than relying on others to keep him updated while he did other stuff... His headache was starting to grow in pain again.

"I'm leaving for another mission tomorrow," she told him. "And this time I won't have an annoying brother getting in the way and mucking things up."

Raphael frowned at the tone she used with him. No concern, just cold and firm. If she truly cared, wouldn't she have just been glad he was okay? Or were they not that close? "But... what if..-"

"Raphael," She interrupted. "Let me make this very clear. If you ever interfere again, you might just lose your life-"

Suddenly, something strange happened. Raphael's headache seemed to multiply and Karai's words started to split. He could still hear her as she spoke, but he could also hear her voice coming from elsewhere.. he wasn't sure. The words seemed to echo around him.

"-And I don't want that-"

"_-And what a pity that would-"_

"-To happen, Raphael-"

"_-be. When I kill you and your-"_

"-Raphael? Raphael?!-"

"_-family, I want to enjoy every-"_

"-Look at me! Get Doctor-"

"_-moment of it.. Perhaps I will-"_

"-Moshin now!"

"_-kill you last and have you watch them die!"_

The sound of a bowl smashing reached his ears and suddenly the world came crashing down around him. The pain doubled, tripled, and then continued to expand without any rate of stopping. He didn't realize it before, but he was moving, thrashing around, with his hands around his head. He was screaming. Oh god! His head! It's gonna explode!!

But just as quickly as he became aware of everything again, he was thrown back into another world.

_The cool air seemed to glide across his skin, filling his lungs which seemed to just make his heart pound all that much faster. His eyes were on the ninjas before him. Heh. The fools, they didn't stand a chance. Stupid Foot. They only sent a small squad of ten?! That was insulting. Suddenly, he heard something behind him. He quickly turned and moved slightly to the side, as a few darts flew past his left shoulder._

"_Nice to see you too, Karai," He chuckled darkly. "Now if you don't mind I'd like to keep this short, sweet and ending with me kicking your ass."_

"_My, my, Raphael," Came the woman's voice. "Is there really such a reason to be so rude? You were always so insolent. Nothing has changed..."_

"_Whatever..." He told her. "Look I don't really like standing around. So if you wanna fight, then let's get this over with, if not, then get lost."_

"_As I said, nothing has changed," She sighed._

"_As I said... Whatever..."_

"_It's your head..."_

_Suddenly three shadows appeared on the roof. "Karai... Should have known." Said one._

"_You weren't thinking of keeping all the fun for yourself, were you-"_

And just like that the world returned again with all the pain with it. He was on the floor now; many hands were on him, trying to keep him still. His screams of agony drowned out any words that might have been said.

_-said we could trust you! He trusted you! Then you turned round and stabbed him in the back!" He screamed._

_The woman said nothing to him. She held her stance, her emotions and her cold stare. His bro had trusted this bitch and she stabbed him in the back! How dare she?!_

"_I'll make you pay!" He growled, charging at her. "Knew we shouldn't have trusted you!"_

_But she moved quicker then him, a kick to his shell and suddenly he was on his knees, a katana at his throat. "Careless..." She whispered in his ear. "I'll let you go this time, so thank your lucky stars. But next time bring that big brother of yours, he's the one I want. Not a weak thing like you..."_

_Then suddenly, she was gone. Leaving him kn-_

Something was plunged into his skin, his fist came into contact with something. A few something's actually. But the pain didn't leave, and his struggles seemed to only grow stronger!

_There was silence between them after she spoke. Could it be true? Did she really mean it, or was it just a trick to earn his trust. After all, his was the only one she had to earn. Everyone else just gave to her, just like that! Why? He couldn't understand it._

"_I'm warning you, Karai." His voice dark. "I will kill you if you betray my family, betray my brother. He trusts you, for whatever stupid reason it might be-"_

"_Raphael." She interrupted him. "I only want to do what's right. I do not wish to hurt you or your family. I pro-_

Suddenly he wasn't moving, but the pain was still very much so with him. His head... surely it must be cracked open or something. His eyes opened for a moment but quickly closed again, a small groan escaping him. Too bright. He felt weak and sick... Someone was stroking his face, speaking soft comforting words. Karai... He remembered her, everything about her. That bitch....

Suddenly, he fell from the world again, but not into his memories this time, but a drugged sleep. But despite the comfort it offered, the pain never left....


	10. Chapter 9: Playing Their Game

_(A/N: So here we have another update. Sorry, it's not as exciting as the last, but in the next chapter it will be. =D_

_I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them, however maybe Nickelodeon will be more generous and feed that starving fans? Maybe even hiring them? That would be awesome!)_

* * *

Raphael felt horrible. His head was pounding, causing his sleep to be restless, but unseen due to the drug in his system. Slowly, it disappeared from his system and he floated in and out of consciousness. This, for Raphael, seemed to last for days, but he was never sure of exactly how much time had actually passed.

Soft hands touched him, he tried to move away, but he couldn't...

Muffled sounds could be heard, but never understood...

Then it would all fade away again, only for him to come back no more coherent then the time before...

--------------

Raphael groaned quietly as he came to, his head pounding. He felt ill. Slowly, he opened his eyes, but groaned again as he saw the light. It was too bright, it hurt. Seemed like this would always happen whenever he came to lately.

Hands, many hands were touching him... Voices... He could hear voices. Someone was talking to him? He opened his eyes again, squinting to try and see who was there. Moshin slowly came into focus, but at the same time so did Karai. Raphael jerked away from her touch, from everyone's touch, sitting up as he did so. There were many doctors around, all trying to get their hold on him again.

"Raphael," Moshin said, the words suddenly very clear to him. "Relax."

Relax? How could he relax? He was in trouble, with people who were out to hurt him and those he cared about... But... Who did he care about? All he knew was Karai and the Foot were bad news. Though the people in his memories... the shadows... were they those turtles? Or were they bad news too? He had no idea. As far as Raphael was concerned, he was alone in this world. Which was probably a good idea until he could figure out who was friend or foe. Or remember. That would be nice.

Karai sat down next to him on the bed. Raphael automatically moved as far away from her as possible. This caused her to frown. "Raphael? Is something wrong?"

Oh no... just the fact you are a lying bitch that should die in hell. No, nothing at all. Though... if she knew that he knew... that he remembered... that would be stupid. Though he was dying to hit her, hit her so hard. He even tensed up a little at the thought.

Karai looked up at Moshin, as if he might have the answer to this.

Finally Raphael spoke. "Just... not feeling well..." He rasped, his throat dry.

Karai seemed to accept this, which was all Raphael needed right now. Just continue to go on, not realizing he knew and he was getting out of here ASAP! She even had some water prepared for him. He took the cup she offered him, taking a few sips before placing it back on the nearby side table. It helped. Karai's one act of decency and all done to keep up this stupid charade. Figures.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and it opened. A ninja in black uniform entered and got down on one knee, bowing to Karai. As if she actually deserved such respect. "Mistress," It said. "All is prepared and awaiting you."

Karai looked down upon the ninja, nodding. "Very good." She got up from the bed. "I will be there shortly. Dismissed."

The ninja got up, bowing and left the room.

Karai looked at Moshin, ignoring Raphael for the moment. The other doctors around him were testing his pulse and temperature as he just allowed them to do it. His skin crawling as they touched him. Don't raise suspicion. But he listened to what was being said around him.

"Keep an eye on him." Karai said. "This shall hopefully not take too long."

"We shall look after him." Moshin promised.

"Good." She said before leaving the room.

Raph frowned. Where was she going? He vaguely remembered the fact she had mentioned to him before she would be leaving on a mission tomorrow... or was it already tomorrow? If so, this would be his best chance to get out of here.

Moshin came over to him, looking him in eye, as if searching for something. Could he suspect that Raphael remembered? No... Or so he hoped. "You mentioned you weren't feeling well?"

Oh... yeah... "Just my stomach." Raphael mentioned, as he was unfed and the feeling was not exactly a comfortable one. "Probably just the fact I still haven't had a lot to eat."

Raphael waited, hoping Moshin would accept this. He did, or seemed to at least. "Actually, I think I should get some more sleep." Raphael suggested. "I'm tired and this headache isn't helping."

There was still a minor headache, but it was much better then he could ever remember it being.

Moshin nodded. "Just call for the guards outside your door if you should require something." He said, as he signed for the other doctors to leave.

As everyone left and the door finally closed, Raphael sighed heavily. Now he just had to work on getting out of this hell hole. Seriously. But how? His few memories of this place all told him it was big. A tower, right? How high was he up? Vents were a bad idea. If he started coughing, it would echo throughout the building. He couldn't just walk out. For one, they wouldn't let him and two? He was a freak! That woman, that elderly woman had been so scared of him. And he hadn't even done anything to suggest he would harm her. He was barely breathing at the time! So Raphael doubted going out in public was a good idea.

Though he knew those guys with the hats outside his door were indeed the best of this army. He remembered them and the pain. So he had to get past them first if he wanted out. This room had no windows, vents or anything. Just one way in or out. They were in the way.

Raphael would wait. Not long, but enough that he might catch them unaware. Then, he would get out of this stupid tower. As to where he would go after that? No idea. But it had to be better then here at least.


	11. Chapter 10: Crud

_(A/N:Sorry for the wait again guys. Seems I am far too easily distracted with shiny things and such that come with the fact I study. XD Again not an overly exciting chapter but I double promise the next one will have some!_

I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D)

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them. Please support the official release so that all your favourite fanfiction writers/artist will have plenty of source material to work with. :D_

* * *

It had been little over an hour by Raphael's track. Or so he hoped. It was a little hard to tell time when he had nothing to compare it with. No clocks, no sunlight, just his own patience coming to an end. Also the ceiling was getting rather boring so he thought it was best to get this started now.

The elite ninjas that awaited him outside his door would easily take him down if they so much as suspected anything. He had a rough idea of what he should do. If he could send one away, then maybe he could take the other down some other way? Especially, if he was just the poor, sick, weak turtle. It was worth a shot at least. He wasn't staying in this stupid room any longer either way.

Raphael suddenly fell from the bed to the floor noisily, allowing his coughing to be heard without muffling it with his hand. Slowly, he crawled halfway to the door before collapsing to the floor with a thud. He groaned loudly, waiting for the Elite ninjas to open the door, but nothing happened.

Come on! Surely they had heard him. Weren't they meant to be looking after him?! Raphael considered moving, attempting to get to the door in his 'weaken' state. Then suddenly, the door opened. Finally! Took them long enough.

Though the Elites hardly seemed concerned by what they saw. "You should probably get Doctor Moshin." One mentioned causally. "Last thing we need is it dying on us."

So one of the Elite ninjas disappeared to go and get the 'help' he needed. While the other approached Raphael without any great deal of urgency. The ninja kneeled down next to him, grabbing his arm and forcing it around the guy's neck. Raphael was hardly into doing the guy any favours, so he put no effort into helping. Instead, he turned into a dead weight, groaning and wheezing at the Elite. Meanwhile, the Elite just had a look of disgust on his face as he struggled with the weight.

Raphael felt the urge to growl at him, but instead he stuck to the plan. He'd feel better when this loser was on floor and having to deal with his Mistress's wrath later. So, he suddenly moved to put his other arm around the guy's neck, then for some unknown reason he pressed down on a certain spot. The name for this just suddenly popped into his head. Pressure points.

The elite realized all too late what was happening and crumpled to the ground.

Raphael nearly went with him, but thankfully managed to stay upright.

It just... It just didn't feel right playing the god damn damsel, but he was no match for these guys right now. Not when he was sick and hurt. Plus, he was in their tower, on their terms. He had nothing going for him apart from the fact he remembered a little now. That was it, as well as the fact they didn't know that yet. And as much as it was hurting him, he had to get out of here, one way or another.

Raphael got moving, wanting to get out of there before they came back. He peaked outside the door. Which way should he go? He took a left, moving as quickly and quietly as his body would allow. He was a little dizzy and wheezy, but at least he was doing better than the last time he was attempting to escape someone... But had that been the wrong people to run from? No idea, he'd figure it out later.

The corridor he was in wasn't all that long. There was a door at the end. He looked back over his shoulder as he suddenly heard footsteps. Shit. Raphael didn't have time to check out the room. He just opened the door. Suddenly, he was hit by a drape or something. Who the hell puts a god damn drape in front of a door?! He closed the door before pushing away the cloth, clearly annoyed. Then... he stopped.

He remembered this room... Crud. It was a bit sketchy with a few bits and pieces missing, but he knew this room. The Shredder, Karai, pain, and fighting. The things that connected him to this room. None of it was pleasant. Not a single thing. Though they weren't the only things he remembered. He was at the top of the tower. Double crud.


	12. Chapter 11: Flying On Mighty Wings

_(A/N: Sorry for the wait again guys. Seems I am far too easily distracted with shiny things and such that come with the fact I study. XD Now we finially have some action! And I have a six week break so then I'll be able to write more. :)_

_I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them. However I do make money by selling alcohol to complete strangers, smiling, nodding and all the while dreaming of turtles.)_

**Xxxxxxx**

The large hall was dimly lit, draped with the Foot's symbol and collections of weapons hanging around the room and on racks. No one was in the hall and he had come from a side door, hidden by one of the giant hangings.

Raphael moved more into the room, his eyes landing on the throne. Stupid Shred-head.

Suddenly, an alarm went off and lights started to flash. Shit. They knew he was gone. Raphael moved towards the throne and went through a door at the back. Surely they wouldn't look for him in Karai's personal room, right?

As soon as he was in, he locked the door behind him. Probably wouldn't keep him safe considering he was in a building full of ninjas. But it was better than nothing. He paused there for a moment, taking some deep breathes, hoping a coughing fit wouldn't give him away. Once he was sure he would remain silent, he turned around and started to look for something that could help him get out of here.

Karai's bedroom was similar to the room he had been kept in. Japanese stuff decorating the place, an empty case for the shredder armour, and a large bed. Though there was another door. Could the ninjas get in that way? Shit. He'd better check it out just in case.

Raphael listened at the door he was currently at. As far as he could tell there was no one there, but ninjas knew how to be silent. After that, he went over to check the other door. It was unlocked. As quietly as he could, he opened it to reveal Karai's person dojo. Maybe he could at least grab himself a weapon then. Surely she kept her weapons close to her dojo?

He entered the room and closed the door behind him. There he spotted yet another door. Armoury? Please? He needed something before the Foot ninja army found him. He opened it and.. JACKPOT!

Finally, some luck! It was her armoury alright and it was plastered wall to wall with a range of weapons! However... what was his weapon? He had no idea. Shit. It had only just hit him that he didn't actually know how to use any of this. He felt the urge to hold something, to go down fighting. But he didn't have the faintest idea about any of the weapons before him. Their use, their name, what would be best, etc. Now there was too much choice. He went over to one wall that had a pair of swords on them. He went to grab them, but suddenly stopped. It didn't feel right. These weapons, they weren't meant for him to wield. Not because they were foot weapons but their specific weapon felt like someone else was meant to wield it. He sighed heavily, coughing a little because of it. This was not the time to confuse yourself!

Suddenly, on the back wall something caught his eye. Not weapons. Instead this wall held other equipment. Grappling hook, parachute, a strange looking steel backpack.. His eyes stopped on the backpack. He went over to it, curiosity taking over. He picked it up off the shelf. What was it? He pressed a button on the strap that would go around the chest.

It burst open! This sudden movement caused him to drop it and fall back in pure surprise, crying out in surprise as he fell. He landed on his shell, a rather uncomfortable position to be in. Slowly, he sat up and looked at it. Was it.. a glider? Raphael couldn't help but grin. Looks like he had his way down. He crawled over to it and pushed the button again, it suddenly retracted. Awesome!

Of course a parachute would have been just as good, but the glider would actually move him away from the tower, instead of just helping him get to the base if there were no good winds.

Now.. he had to get out of here. He quickly pulled the backpack on and strapped it to him. Moving quickly now, he left the armoury without looking at the weapons. He needed to get out and find a safe place to hide. Wherever that was.

He could hear it now, running. Very soft footsteps that many people might not hear. But he just knew the ninjas had found him. Without any hesitation he threw himself at the nearest window. It smashed as his weight collided with it and he started to fall. Fear gripped him. What the hell was he doing? He could be a pancake if this thing fails him! Too late now though...

Adrenaline was pumping through his system. Quickly, he pushed the button and the backpack burst open once more, a handle bar appearing in front of him. He instantly took hold of it as the wind caught the glider and lifted him back up again for a moment before it started to take him away from the tower.

He coughed and wheezed as the glider straps applied pressure to his chest and restricted his breathing slightly. But it didn't matter. He was out of there! A little discomfort and pain was a small price to pay.

Raphael looked around, enjoying his freedom. It was night time again. That was good. The night felt safe... He couldn't explain that. Just felt right.

Now.. Where should he go? He didn't know who was safe and who was not.. Even the turtles. Karai may have lied to him, but that didn't mean that he should trust them so quickly. Maybe if he could just find somewhere to rest til the next night. Hopefully by then he would have a better idea of what he should do..

Raphael was so deep in thought, he hadn't realized he had glided to the edge of the city and was heading for the harbour. Well.. not til it was too late anyway. He soared past the piers and boats towards the middle, he did his best to turn the damn thing, but he had no idea how to use this thing! Somehow, he managed to get it to start heading back to the city but not before reaching the water.

With a giant splash he hit the water, the glider floating with him for a moment before starting to drag him down to the waterbed. Raphael quickly started to undo the straps and discard the thing. But holding his breath was hurting his lungs. Before he could stop it, a cough fit started. Underwater of all places! Water rushed into his mouth, this only making him to try and cough more. Raphael quickly started to swim; more water getting in the longer it took.

Finally he broke the surface, coughing loudly trying to get the water out of him. He hadn't even noticed how close he had been to a pier before he automatically gripped the legs of it to keep him above water while he continued to have his coughing fit.


	13. Chapter 12: More Charming 'Friends'

_(A/N: Woot! An update! :D_

_I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them. That is the job of the kind people of Nickelodeon.. *Sighs heavily and really wants that job*.)_

**Xxxxxxx**

Raphael heaved himself up onto the pier, coughing and wheezing in his attempt to get that last bit of water out of him, but also saw more of the green stuff from before. Though not as much. He lay there for a short time, shivering as the cold wind chilled him to the bone. He felt so tired, so numb, his body was starting to move slower whenever he attempted it. In fact, the only thing that made him even think about trying to get up was the sound of loud footsteps running up the pier towards him.

He rolled over, glancing at the group of people running towards him. His only relief was that they were obviously not ninjas. Slowly, he forced himself to get up, swaying as he did. To think he had done so little and was so tired because of it.

The group before him were... kids? Maybe as young as 15, but certainly no older than 20. And they all had a weapon. Nothing like the ninja weapons Karai had possessed, but instead these were street weapons. Was that the right way to put it? Pipes, chains, baseball bats, knives, and none of them were looking at him too kindly. Shit... He really should have grabbed a weapon from Karai's armoury before leaving. Though, he would have probably have just lost it in the water.

The group frowned at him as they got closer. Well he was a giant turtle, but that didn't seem to be the problem.

"I thought the boss said this one was dead?" One said to another.

Dead? What the hell? Okay, if their boss claimed him dead maybe he was better off avoiding this group. But he was backed into a corner really, at the end of a pier with only the water to go back to. He was so tired and where would he go once he was in the water. He was still shivering, even more so as they started to grin at him.

"I can fix that problem," one claimed, stepping towards Raphael, the group following him.

That's it! Without anymore hesitation he jumped. As if they had expected this, he heard a bang. For a second he feared it had been a gun shot, but before he hit the water a net wrapped itself around him so when he did finally hit the water, he was tangled.

Raphael struggled to get out, sinking in the water, unable to swim properly. Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled back up to the surface, thankfully before another coughing fit could start. Unfortunately, the thugs were the ones pulling him out. Shit.

They heaved him back up onto the pier. He continued to struggle with them, but they were quick to start laying into him with their weapons. He cried out in pain as they continued to beat him. He tried to curl up into a ball in order to try and protect himself when suddenly something hit him square in the back of the head, and then there was nothing.

Xxxxxxx

Raphael slowly came to, aware of a rather large hand gripping his head, not bothering to be gentle at all. He moved to force the hands away, but found he couldn't move. His hands were secured painfully tight behind him to... a chair? He was sitting in a chair, he slowly realized. He tried to move his legs, but they were secured to the chair as well.

Whoever was with him seemed to notice him coming round and decided to help the process along by using his giant hands to start slapping him around. Raphael's eyes snapped opened and he made a few incoherent grunts and growls in an attempt to get away from the giant hands. However, even when he was awake, the hands didn't stop. Instead there was a booming laughter at his reaction and suddenly a fist slammed into his stomach, leaving him winded and struggling to breathe.

"So, you're finally awake," came the voice. "And looking worse for wear since I last saw ya."

Raphael continued to struggle to breathe. Oh god... He felt like he might be sick... He tried to get a look at the person that hit him, but frowned... He must have problems seeming as there was two of them.. Two giant, humans with long blonde hair and the same scars... They even moved the same... He blinked to try and clear his vision. It worked slightly, but he just couldn't get them to focus. His headache was growing again... Then again... He was pretty sure someone had hit him in head again.

Raphael opened his mouth to speak, but the instead he the man (men?) hit him with such a powerful back fist; he and his chair went flying across the room and into some other furniture. He groaned, now lying on his side on the chair.

"Looks like Karai was stupid enough not ta finish ya off right away," the man continued as he slowly walked over to him. "But I promise ya I won't make the same mistake."

Raph felt himself and the chair being lifted off the ground.

"You'll be dead within the hour," the man sat the chair and Raphael up properly, as if it was as simple as picking up a toy. "But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy this, and let me tell you Raphael, I will enjoy this. Immensely."

Raphael could hear the man cracking his knuckles. The turtle was struggling to even see the man now. His pain was everywhere. His head, his face, his chest, his stomach, his arms, and his legs. Somehow he knew that it was going to get so much worse for him. This guy... Whoever he was, meant everything he had said. He'd jumped right out of the frying pan and into the fire...


	14. Chapter 13: The Giant Mammoth

_(A/N: And here is another update! Rather quick for me... But then again I have lots of fun with these sort of chapter. Hehehe XD_

_I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them. But one day I will write my own book and those characters shall be me, and I will make money from them and the horrors I put them through! Mwhahahaha.)_

**Xxxxxxx**

Raphael was in pain. The rather large man paced around him, teasing him, taunting him. A lot of the stuff didn't make sense. Not because he didn't recall anything the man said, that didn't help, but also Raphael was finding it rather difficult to concentrate on what the man was saying.

"You're gonna pay for every single pain you've caused me," the man said with a rather large grin on his face. "For every time you've interfered, for every plan you've ruined, I will repay to you with pain."

Raphael frowned. What had he done to this man...? "What did I-" Raphael started, but was suddenly cut off when the man's fist collided with his jaw.

The force of the collision knocked the chair to the floor with Raphael in it. The man's laughter filled his ears, his headache increasing even more as his jaw was throbbing. He didn't notice the drool mixed with blood that had started escaping his mouth, he just groaned as the man picked his chair up again.

"What you did?" The man repeated almost quietly before the bellowing began once more right in front of Raphael's face. "You and those so called brothers of yours-"

As the man got up close to his face and his mouth filled with blood, he suddenly spat it into the man's face. It was just a reaction; he had no idea why he'd done it. He must have bitten his tongue though when the guy hit him. The man was still for a moment, looking at him with the stupidest expression on his face before reacting.

The man grabbed him by the throat, suddenly rushing forwards, taking Raphael with him. He gasped as he and the chair were slammed into the wall. His arms were trapped painfully between the chair and the wall. Unnoticed splinters from where the chair had started to break, digging into him. The grip on his throat tightened as the man wiped his face. Raphael was struggling to breath, the giant hand cutting off his air supply.

"You freak!" The man snarled at him, practically screaming his lungs out at the turtle. "You and those other god damn turtles deserve to die! But you'll be the first, with my own two hands!"

His grin grew, his grip tightening even more. Raphael was struggling as much as the restrains would allow, but it wasn't doing him any good. He was going to die...

"I wonder what they'll do when they see your body... Or maybe I should throw it back in the habour..." The man contemplated almost casually as Raphael was struggling to stay conscious.

His headache was getting worse; it felt like his head was going burst open! His body started to thrash beyond his control, but it wasn't seen properly due to him being restrained. Suddenly, he started to slip from the world, but not into the afterlife. Instead, he was falling into the other world once more, like he had with Karai...

_He ducked as a giant arm swung round to hit him, missing by inches. Though he didn't pause to marvel at just how slow this big lug was, he had to keep moving or that big lug would eventually get him. And if he did, then he knew he wouldn't be the one laughing about it._

_He jumped up high, the giant man now having lost his balance so Raph was able to kick him right in the jaw! Oh yeah! That hurt! Both him and the man. He landed on his other foot, favouring it slightly. Definitely worth it as the guy fell backwards and on to his ass!_

"_Give it up, Hun." He said, grinning. "You're way too slow for me."_

_Hun groaned, forcing himself to his feet. _

"_Ah yeah?" He said, spitting out some blood. "Still doesn't mean ya stand a chance of winning, little turtle."_

_Little? He called me? LITTLE? Raphael growled and surged forw-_

Raphael suddenly felt himself hit the ground, still thrashing, just wanting the pain to stop! Ah! The pain! There was a loud bellow from the man as he suddenly picked him up again and throw-

_He was breathing heavily, having run all this way without stopping and still he couldn't out escape them... Before him were more Purple Dragons and even Hun. Hun... The mammoth of a man stood before him, arms crossed, looking full of himself as per usual._

"_Going somewhere?" Hun said, sounding amused._

"_Just for a run, stretching my legs." He said, trying to get his breathing under control._

_Hun just laughed at him as gang members started to encircle him. Raphael growled at them, drawing his sais. He was still panting like crazy, but he was not going down without a fight. Then suddenly shadows descended, taking out a few dragons._

"_There you are!" One said playfully. "Been looking everywhere for you, Raphie. Been keeping the fun all to yourself? That's not very nice."_

_Raphael growled at the shadows. "It would help if someone would actually pick up the phone!"_

"_What?" It replied, before offering a weak excuse. "I was in the shower..." _

"_Enough, we can discuss this later." Another shadow said, taking out more dragons as he did._

_Raphael smiled a little. That was Fea-_

He was flying through the air. People around him shouting loudly, way too loudly. His struggles were slowly starting to die down as him and the chair came in contact with something. Though instead of stopping him, it rolled with him as if absorbing the landing for him...

_Something hung in Hun's grip, limp and unmoving. A strange shadow of sorts. But this was an important shadow. Raphael was unclear as to why, but he knew if he did nothing he would lose someone very dear to him..._

"_You bastard!" He snarled, before demanding. "Put him down and fight me!"_

_Hun just chuckled. "No. Put your weapons down or I'll just snap his neck and be done with him."_

_Raphael growled, tensing up. This wasn't fair! This had been his fight and now he would lose someone he cared about who had just been trying to watch his shell. He wanted to fight his way out... But he couldn't. He just couldn't risk it. He felt his sais fall from his grasp, hitting the ground loudly._

Finally his headache seemed to be fading, his struggles stopped as he panted, exhausted by what he had just been through. There were voices around him, a hand on his forehead. A gentle hand, caring... Who was there? He tried to open his eyes, but groaned at how bright everything was, hurting his eyes. He felt ill... Though he'd seen blue. For that brief moment he had seen blue. It was oddly reassuring.

Raphael could feel someone releasing him from the chair, talking rapidly. Silence, please... Was it too much to ask for? The hand on his forehead moved, instead he was being pulled to his feet. Someone must be taking all of his weight as his body didn't seem to be willing to move. Someone else came up to his other side, taking his arm around his neck. He felt something strange behind his neck. A shell? The turtles... Out of the memories he had regained the turtles appeared in none of them. It was only Karai and Hun that he remembered clearly, and their crime organizations. So he still had no idea if they were friend or foe...


	15. Chapter 14: Brothers

_(A/N: And as it may have become evident, I am back at Uni. This means my time as a writer is short... But to make up for it this chapter is one of my longest! :D_

_I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them. However, I look forward to the day when someday something I do, will have it's own fandom and they will have to put up notes like this as I will be the one making the money! :D )_

**Xxxxxxx**

Raphael had been awake for most of the trip to... wherever the hell they were going. Probably back down to the sewers because at some stage it started to stink. He groaned a couple of times when the two carrying him seemed to do something to cause him pain. At first there had been so much jumping around, then running... At some point Raphael had tried to speak, had tried to move or function in anyway. But his body didn't allow for it. He was limp in their grasp and eventually had seemed to have drifted off into a slumber.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Raphael had been sleeping, resting after the horrible night he had just managed to survive when suddenly something very cold was pressed against his jaw. This kind of forced him to come round. There was an oxygen mask on him again and for that, he was grateful. However, he was not grateful for whoever the hell was hurting his arms. He groaned as it felt like he was being cut up and down his forearms. He could suddenly hear voices, they were whispering something...

Suddenly, one of the cuts went deep he gasped at the pain and suddenly bolted straight up in a sitting position, pulling arms away from whoever held them. There was a lot of shouting at him, and they were trying to grab him. The turtles!

"Get away from me..!" He yelled at them, moving over to the far side of the bed against the wall.

Raphael leaned against the wall, feeling dizzy and sore. He had nowhere else to go. There were two of them. The one with blue and the purple one... He was back in that room! They had brought him back!

"Raphael, calm down." The blue one said gently, but firmly.

"Calm down.." He said through the mask, flinching away as the purple one tried to take his arm. "What the hell.. do you want from me..?" He wheezed at them.

The purple one, kind of leaned back in his chair thinking. His face... there was evidence of the last time they met. The bruises from when he had lashed out in order to escape looked painful. He actually felt a little bad for him, but right now he was more concerned with other things. Like the blue one who was still trying to grab him. Raphael just glared at him, but the guy just glared back.

"I told you something wasn't right.." The purple one whispered finally.

"Raph, I don't understand." The blue one said, looking him the eyes, Raphael had to look away. "Why are you being like this?"

Raph ignored him, looking down at his arms, frowning as he did. There were... splinters in his arms. One was half pulled out as well. So they were just removing these? He vaguely remembered getting them from the chair when Hun was strangling him. Hun! Things were flooding back.

"You saved me..?" He asked the blue one, he'd remembered seeing blue.

The blue one's frown increased.

"Of course we did.." the turtle said as if not believing he had heard the question properly.

The purple one leaned forwards slightly, holding out his hands.

"Can I please continue?" He asked. "I promise I'm not trying to hurt you."

Raphael frowned at this. Allow him to continue..? For the moment he stayed near his wall. The turtle was not rushing him or harassing him. Instead, allowing him to think about it all. In the end, very reluctantly, he moved back again. The purple one took his arm very gently in one hand and the tweezers in the other. Raphael just watched him carefully, confused beyond anything he could ever imagine.

"Who are you..?" He asked, flinching as the splinters were pulled out.

The blue one was about to speak when the purple one cut him off. "My name is Donatello." He said as he worked. "I'm your brother. This is Leonardo, who is also your brother."

The answers seemed to be given almost robotically as the turtle worked on his arm. Just giving information that was required. Raphael wasn't sure if he should believe all this though. This wasn't the first time he'd been told he was a part of someone's family. However, the fact that they were also turtles made it seem so much more likely they were telling the truth.

The blue one... Leonardo, moved over to him with the ice bag and he tensed, pulling away from them slightly again. Donatello, had a firm grip on his arm though and looked at him. The look... It was full of concern and worry. It stopped him from trying to pull away.

"It's okay.." Leonardo whispered, before explaining. "Your jaw is swollen and you've also got a bit of a fever. It'll help."

Raphael looked away as he remembered how much Hun had knocked him around. He wasn't even sure what injuries he had anymore. He just.. didn't feel comfortable with these turtles. Not right now anyway. So instead of allowing his apparent 'brother' to touch him with the ice, he held out his free hand for the ice. The turtle handed it over with little hesitation.

Raphael put it on his jaw, flinching away from it as it was very sore. More gently, he touch it.. Ow..

"Could you come a little closer?" Donatello asked. "I'm nearly done with this arm, but I still need to clean it."

Raphael looked down to see this was true. So hesitantly, he moved a little closer. He felt dizzy... And ill...

"You should lie back down," Leonardo suggested gently. "You're hurt and not well, you should be resting."

The turtle sounded concerned, but also confused. So it was no surprise to what he would say next. "So... you really don't remember us?"

Raphael sighed heavily through the mask. Why would he pretend? "I got no idea.. who you are.." He said truthfully before adding even more quietly. "Who I am.."

Donatello was just wrapping up his arm now, looking deep in thought. He signalled for the next arm as he released the other one. Raphael used his now other hand to hold the ice now before giving the arm that still needed looking after to the turtle.

"Leo, could you get Raph some painkillers?" Donatello asked the other turtle. "The ones in the blue bottle."

Leonardo hesitated. Raphael could practically see the turtle thinking this through, as if wondering if it was a good idea or not. Raphael himself wasn't sure if painkillers were a good idea. Yes, he was in pain and his headache was back. But he was reluctant to take something from anyone on the word it really was just painkillers. Donatello seemed to sense this...

"Raph, relax." He said soothingly. "If we meant you harm, I would not bother spending all this time patching you up."

Raphael had to admit, that was some sound reasoning... But Karai had also looked after him too.

Leonardo returned to his side with a tablet and a glass of water, holding it out for him. He took the tablet from his 'brother', putting down the ice first.

"What's this going to do..?" He asked, eyeing up the tablet.

"Take away the pain." Donatello replied, almost robotically. "There may be some drowsiness, dizziness but nothing serious."

Raphael wasn't sure.. He wanted to remain alert to what these turtles were doing around him. But he felt strange... Like he could really trust the turtles, like he could trust Donatello to look after him. And well... they had rescued him, saved him twice. Even if he hadn't appreciated it the first time round... With those thoughts in mind, he pulled off his oxygen mask and put the tablet in his mouth. He took the water from Leonardo, downing the whole glass rather quickly... The water, it felt so good. A proper drink, unlike what he had had in a while.

"Could you lie back down for me?" Donatello asked. "It's just harder to reach the higher splinters with you trying to be so far away at the same time. Leo's right, you should rest."

Raphael didn't move. He wasn't comfortable and would rather lie down. But he also wasn't comfortable with the turtles. He had taken the meds, surely that was enough for the moment. Donatello seemed to pick up pretty quickly that he would not be doing anything. The turtle sighed a little before speaking again.

"Can you tell me about what happened while you with the Foot?" He asked instead. "From the earliest you can remember until you woke up here? It's much easier for me to treat you if I know what's happened to you."

Raphael hesitated again, but in the end complied. He spoke about the short while he had actually been conscious before the kidnap/rescue attempt. He avoided talking about his time here, as the bruising all over the turtle's face was evidence of how much damage he had done during that moment. The turtle didn't look up at him, but continued to work as if indifferent to the injuries he had received from Raphael.

He was doing a great deal of talking, more than he had in a while and it was wearing him out. Either that or the tablet was kicking in. When the turtle said drowsy, he wasn't kidding. In the end, he did lie down. Donatello had finished with his arms at that point and instead busied himself with other things like reading Raphael's temperate, how swollen his jaw was, and the now rather long cut on his... plastron? He was sure that's what the turtle referred to it as. During all the running around he had done, and bashing from Hun, it had grown in size. As Donatello finished with it, Raph was nearly mumbling with his tiredness, never having stopped talking. He'd gotten as far as his escape, not sure if they had even understood it all.

Leonardo covered him with a blanket, telling him to get some sleep before taking his seat next to the bed. There were some quiet whispers between the two turtles, but Raph had dropped off to sleep far too quickly to catch any of it. He was just so tired and sore... His body was resting as it should be.

The turtles were strange, but oddly enough, he actually felt safe with them watching him sleep. Now if only he could remember and know for sure. But that would make life way too easy, now wouldn't it?


	16. Chapter 15: And The Other Brother

_(A/N: Got bored of doing homework so here's a chapter! A little more home stuff... Nothing exciting. Why in the world is it easier to write a fight scene or Raph being beaten to near death then a family scene? Come on! *Is displeased with her inability to write a convincing family interaction scene.* _

_I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them. However, I look forward to the day when someday something I do, will have it's own fandom and they will have to put up notes like this as I will be the one making the money! :D )_

**Xxxxxxx**

Raphael moved a little beneath his blanket, stirring slightly. He was so comfortable and warm right now. It was so nice. His pain wasn't too bad and he had the oxygen mask. It was as if all his needs had been tended to.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the small, dark, cluttered room. But he wasn't alone. Donatello was sitting next to his bed, leaning on the bed, fast asleep. He couldn't help but smile at this a little.

These turtles, they seemed to be more trustworthy. Now that he had had time to relax and think, he actually felt safe with them. They hadn't restrained him, attacked him, or anything, despite the fact he had attacked one of their own. Yet when he had apparently attacked someone at the foot clan, he had been restrained. Heh. He certainly hoped he got whoever it was good.

Though, Raphael felt bad for the sleeping turtle. It had been hurt before and he hadn't helped when he had run of...

Raphael was still tired, but he was sick of being in bed all the time, plus he was hungry. Hunger pains were gripping at his stomach. Well, lying around in bed wouldn't fix that and he didn't want to wake the turtle...

He took off his oxygen mask, causing his breathing to become slightly laboured, but it was okay. It had been worse.

Mindful of the turtle, he crawled out of the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, just thinking and comparing himself to the sleeping turtle... His brother... He was just looking at the different skin tones and how similar their bodies were. The shell... He felt his own shell. It was strong. Something told him it had saved him more than a few times.

Raphael stood up slowly; glad to see he was doing okay. As he looked back at Donatello, a feeling of guilt came back to him. The turtle had taken such good care of him and he gave his thanks by kicking him in the head? Great, just great. He must be one shit of a brother.

Raphael couldn't explain why he was about to do this, but he kind of felt he had to. Carefully, he scooped the turtle up, groaning at how much he weighed. Thankfully, he only had to lift the turtle into the bed. From there he covered the turtle with the blanket. It hadn't woken at all, stirred slightly though. For a moment, he had feared it would wake. Instead it found his hand wrapping itself around his and muttered something in its sleep.

Raphael just stood, wheezing slightly over the turtle for a moment, frozen by the action. He suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. Carefully, he got the turtle to release his hand. He headed for the door. He needed food, and this turtle obviously needed the rest...

Hmm... This would be a nice test to see how well they really knew him. What did he like to eat?

Silently, Raphael tip toed out the room, shutting the door behind him. He stepped into what looked like a living area. There was a slightly tattered, old, worn couch in the centre, with a few recliners, looking just as worn. There was a coffee table and a rather good looking TV that was set up. There were a few doors that lead out of the area. His eyes drifted to the door that led out of this... home? Hard to believe this was all in the sewers.

There was a set of stairs that led to a second level where a balcony or hallway type of thing with other doors led off somewhere else. He wasn't really sure about where to go looking for food now and no one seemed to be around to ask... It was so quiet, almost made the place seem kind of eerie. He walked over to the couch slowly, looking around. Where was Leonardo? And that other turtle... The one with the orange bandana?

"RAPHIE!"

Before Raphael had time to even see what had screamed, or who, he had the wind knocked out of him and he was on the floor with something very loud and crazy squeezing the life out of him.

"Raphie!" Came the overly loud voice again.

Raphael was struggling to get away, attempting to push his attacker away. "Get... Off!" He wheezed.

He looked at his attacker to see it was another turtle. The one with the orange bandana. He'd take it back! He didn't wonder where the turtle was, he just wanted it to let go and leave him alone now! Sure he was grateful for the original rescue from Karai, but that didn't mean he wanted to be hugged by it like this.

"Mikey?" Came a voice. "Mikey!"

Suddenly, 'Mikey' was pulled off of him and Raphael quickly moved away from everyone, panting from his struggles. Leonardo had come in, pulling Mikey off of him. Mikey looked kind of crest fallen by all this.

"Raph, this is Mikey." Leonardo explained, gently patting the now slightly calmer turtle.

Mikey kind of smiled and waved at him. Instead of replying, Raphael's stomach growled loudly, which seemed to excite the turtle all over again.

"You hungry, Raphie?" Mikey asked, his smile growing.

Before Raph could even reply, the turtle had run off into another room. "I'll get some food!" It announced loudly as it went.

Leonardo sighed slightly, offering Raphael a hand up. "Are you alright?" The turtle asked, inspecting him for injuries. "You shouldn't be out of bed. Come on, I'll help you back to bed."

Leonardo didn't seem as happy as Mikey was to see him out of bed. Raphael looked at the hand... should he take it or not? A little reluctantly, he took it.

"Can't... Donatello's... in it..." He mentioned as Leonardo tried to guide him back to the... bed room?

Leonardo sighed and instead, guided him towards the couch, his hand locked around Raphael's wrist and the other around his shell, on his shoulder. He wasn't that fragile. None the less, Raphael said nothing, just sighing a little when the turtle spoke.

"Then rest here, please?" He asked, his look full of concern.

Raphael found he couldn't say no... Not right now. So he allowed himself to be seated on the couch which was surprisingly more comfortable then it looked.

"I'll be back shortly." Leonardo said, finally letting go. "Just call if you need something."

Raphael just nodded and watched the turtle disappear to where he would find a sleeping Donatello.


	17. Chapter 16: Tomato Soup

_(A/N: This chapter became really big, so I had to split it up. Hopefully that means I can update quickly. Naturally me and my beta have annoying things that get in the way but we do try our best. I'll be trying harder considering I'm on holiday for the next 4 months! Go me!_

_Also, to me, Raph will always be second oldest. So I'm sorry to all the fans out there that see Don as second oldest, but it's not happening in this fic! :P _

_Also, Also, to all the Americans! Jelly is the British (or Australian in my case) version of Jello! …. That is all. XD_

_I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them.)_

**Xxxxxxx**

It wasn't long before Leonardo returned, and with him, he had brought a blanket. It would seem this turtle wasn't going to let up on the idea of Raphael resting just because the bed wasn't free. Raphael sighed a little, then coughed as well. Ah… Would he ever stop feeling so ill? And this headache… It had come back shortly after he'd gotten up… Damn.

The cough had brought a look of concern from Leonardo. It made Raphael a little… uncomfortable. Even more so when the turtle came over and sat next to him, fussing like a mother hen or something.

"Don said you need to rest as much as possible," the turtle said as it started to try and wrap the blanket around Raphael. "Only get out of bed when you have to. Not only are you not well, but injured. We need to keep that wound on your plastron from splitting any further. It'll take a while to heal. It's made of much thicker skin then the rest of you."

Raphael kind of squirmed away from the fussing turtle, feeling very uncomfortable with all this close contact and fussing. He moved away slightly, but remaining on the couch. The turtle just smiled at him a little, Raphael had to look away.

"You didn't… wake Donatello.. Did you…?" Raphael asked, his breathing improving now that he had recovered from Mikey's 'hug'.

"No." Leonardo replied quietly. "It's about time he finally got some rest."

Raphael was relieved. After all, he had worked so hard to get out of bed without waking the turtle in the first place. Before he could actually say anything, Mikey returned to the room carrying two bowls in his arms.

"I have returned!" He announced loudly. "And I come bearing lunch!"

The turtle looked rather pleased with himself. Leonardo on the other hand, did not.

"Mikey," Leonardo said. "Don's asleep and so is Master Splinter, could you keep it down?"

Huh? Master Splinter? Who's that?

"Oops.. Sorry." Mikey said, giving the other turtle a rather innocent looking smile. "But I have food."

"Right…" Leonardo said as he got up. "I'm going back to Master Splinter. Stay with Raph for me and check on Don every now and again. He's in the infirmary."

Hold on… Did Leonardo just appoint him a baby sister? And this guy of all the turtles?

"No problem." Mikey said with a rather large grin appearing on his face. "Plus I gotta reintroduce Raph to the wonders of TV."

Without too much more to say, Leonardo left, disappearing through a different door.

Mikey came over, setting the two bowls on the coffee table. "Okay Raphie," The turtle said cheerfully. "I've got some yummy things here for you. Some homemade tomato soup and for desert we have some jelly."

"So I like tomato soup?" He asked, looking at the bowls.

It felt, terrible not knowing even the silly little things like what you even liked to eat.

"Bro, you like everything." The turtle laughed at him. "Except maybe anchovies… and bugs… and happiness. But food wise? Just anchovies."

Ah ha…

Mikey turned on the TV, making sure it wasn't too loud before getting the soup for Raphael.

"Here you go." The turtle said, also offering him a spoon. "Shouldn't be too hot."

Raphael looked down at it. It smelled good at least. He took a small spoonful and it was good. Delicious.

"So who was this Master Splinter that Leonardo mentioned?" He asked, quietly.

Mikey raised an eye- what? Wasn't really an eyebrow. More like… an eye ridge? Anyway, he raised an eye ridge at the question.

"Dude, don't be so formal." He said, somewhat seriously. "The only time you call Leo 'Leonardo' is when you're mad at him or making fun of him. Man… Looks like you've got a lot you need to like… reknow!"

Ah ha… So just Leo then?

"We have Leonardo, or just Leo." Mikey continued. "The oldest brother. Then there is you, Raphael. Or just Raph, I personally prefer Raphie, much cuter."

Cuter? Right…

"Then we have Donatello, Don, or just Donnie," Mikey said as his smile grew as if he was leading up to something. "And finally we have the Battle Nexus Champion of the Multiverse, your youngest and faviouritest brother, me! Michelangelo, Mikey, or even Mike when you're really annoyed with me."

Raphael smiled a little. Or… Raph for short, huh? Interesting. And Mikey? He seemed pretty full of himself. Though when he didn't receive any applauds, an awkward silence fell upon them. Raph just had some spoonfuls of soup.

"And this Master Splinter?" He asked, as the first question had been completely missed.

"Oh!" Mikey said, as if suddenly remembering. "That's father. Not our real father but he raised us, cared for us and taught how to kick some shell!"

"So… there's another turtle?"

Mikey laughed at this. "Not quite dude, but close. Well… not really, but still. You'll see later. For now, he needs to rest and so do you. Somehow you both managed to get rather sick. But then again… we live in a sewer."

Mikey just shrugged as if it was a minor detail. But how could a father, and an ill one at that, be minor?

"Leo's been looking after him though," Mikey continued. "Only really leaving his side to well… look for you. Me and Leo spent hours every night trying to figure out where the Foot had you. After all, we couldn't just knock on their door and ask."

Raph smiled at that joke, but that was mainly because he actually knew what the turtle was talking about. Though he was glad he wasn't anywhere near Karai… Or Hun for that matter.

"Okay, you hang tight and watch some cartoons, I'll be back." The turtle promised before disappearing into the infirmary.


	18. Chapter 17: A Piece to the Puzzle

_(A/N: Finally! Sorry everyone! My laptop died and then I was just putting off uploading it as I was really busy over Christmas... :-/ Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! :D_

_I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money from writing stories about them or any other fandom out there... yet.)_

**Xxxxxxx**

Raph continued to eat his soup, but his attention was more on the infirmary. The turtle was rather loud… he might wake Donatello. Don… Raph sighed a little. There was a lot he had to get used to. It wasn't just an automatic thing to be told something and be like he remembered.

By the time the turtle returned, he had nearly finished his soup. He felt better for eating, but his stomach was having a hard time remembering food was a good thing. Mikey returned with some water and tablets. He recognised the painkiller, but not some of the others.

"What are they?" He asked, trying not to sound as suspicious as he felt.

Raph honestly didn't like the idea of being drugged. He didn't like the painkillers. They made him feel so tired, like he couldn't function. It felt wrong.

"Well we have painkillers since it looks like someone had drilled into your head." Mikey explained. "We have some antibiotics. What the foot gave you was great, but that doesn't mean you can stop. It's funny… The Foot was actually helping you… Weird. Some vitamins to help your immune system, and finally some steroids to help give you a bit more strength to beat this thing."

Ah ha… He still didn't like it and it probably showed.

"Come on, Raphie." Mikey said, almost pleaded with him. "Donnie told us when you woke up to feed you and make sure you took these in case he was busy. They don't bite…"

Very reluctantly, he gave in. Raph took the glass of water and the tablets from the turtle. Who knows, maybe he would react better now he had food in his stomach?

"Thanks." The turtle smiled. "Now I won't have Don breathing down my neck because of it. He's still kicking his shell for what happened."

Huh? "What happened?" He asked.

Mikey's smile kind of faded.

"When you were taken…" He said quietly. "Don had been with you and well… he'd been lucky enough to hold out long enough that we could get there… But the Foot had taken you already. Don was hurt, we had to get him to safety… and they must have taken you away from the battle, like straight away, because you weren't even in the area."

Raph sat there in silence. His headache started to feel worse. He grimaced; he had to close his eyes as the light in the room suddenly felt too bright.

"Whoa!" The turtle said, suddenly coming closer, touching him. "Don said not to force it!"

Raph flinched away from the touch, dropping the glass in the process. With every second the headache got worse. His hands went to his head. Ah! Just make it stop. Mikey was talking to him, moving closer again. Raph bolted up from the couch and kind of fell into someone's arms, his legs turning to jelly beneath him.

He hissed in pain, struggling against whoever held him. Another pair of arms wrapped themselves around, holding him still. They moved him, forcing him to lie down. He struggled, kicked and yelled, the pain was still increasing. Someone was restraining him while another set of hands started to massage and press different points in his head and neck. He was relaxing against his own will, the pain starting to dull a little. In the end, they just continued to massage one particular spot on his neck. His yelling had now becoming a soft mumble and an occasional whimper. He groaned softly as the massages stopped. Please.. Don't.. Stop.

"That should help until the tablets kick in." Came a soft voice.

Raph slowly opened his eyes, as a hand came to rest on his forehead. Leo… The turtle was looking at him with concern. "The fevers back…" The turtle sighed.

It took Raph a few moments to realize he had been laid down back on the couch.

"Mikey," Leo continued. "Could you get me a bowl with water and some rags? I'll take this stuff away."

Hmm? What stuff? Raph looked down on the floor to see the remainder of his soup currently spilt across the stone as well as some broken glass and a cracked bowl.

He muttered an apology, but Mikey just brushed it off. "Don't worry about it." He said. "Best thing about having a stone floor is it cleans up easy. Trust me."

The turtle gave him a rather cheeky looking grin as if they had cleaned up a lot of messes before.

Leo left him to start cleaning up the mess. Raph moved a little, but his body felt unnaturally heavy. Slowly, he forced himself to sit up while drawing Leo's attention.

"Raph, you should rest," The turtle said, moving to push him back down into the couch. "Get some sleep and you'll feel better when wake up."

Raph shock his head slowly. "Don't…" He muttered, brushing Leo's hands off of him. "Mike… he's reintroducing… me to TV…"

Leo's gaze kind of bore into his eyes, but he was stubborn. Raph wouldn't give in. The stupid tablets would make him tired enough that he would probably fall asleep where he sat. After all that had happened, he just wanted some… normality. Was it too much to ask for? Then again, was normal possible when there was a home full of mutant turtles?

Leo sighed heavily before going back to cleaning up the broken glass. "Just don't overdo it." The turtle said, seeming to just let things go for now. "But I better not catch you off that couch again."


	19. Chapter 18: A Touch of Comfort

_(A/N: Another large gap. Sorry guys. Things have been hard health and school wise for me lately, plus my beta is also busy. A little thing called life seems to get in the way. Silly thing._

_I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money for this writing accept for some wonderful reviews that make me giggle and feel all warm inside.)_

**Xxxxxxx**

Raph had stubbornly stood his ground, but he was really starting to feel the effects of this fever now. He was coming out in a sweat, his vision getting a little fuzzy… Damn… He felt so cold. He pulled the blanket around him tighter to try and keep the cold out.

Mikey returned with another bowl, but this one wasn't filled with food. Oh… He'd been sent to go and get water and rags, right?

Mikey kind of frowned at him when he came in, like he wasn't happy. "Dude, you should rest." He said gently as he put the bowl down on the table.

Not this again… It really wasn't helping. "Wanna watch TV…" He muttered.

Mikey just laughed at him as he wet the cloth. "You can do that lying down."

Raph sighed. Everyone was on his case. Everyone was fussing over him... He just wanted to be left alone.

Suddenly, a very cold and wet rag was put on his forehead. He growled at it, wanting it to be gone. Mikey stopped him before he could even try and pull the stupid thing off.

"Come on, Raphie." The turtle said. "Leave it there. It'll help."

It annoyed Raph how the turtle could make him feel so guilty over nothing. It was just the way he spoke, the way he looked at Raph, it made him feel bad about trying to push away the help he was being offered. It annoyed him even more than the fact he needed all this help in the first place.

"Do I ever mention how annoying you can be?" He asked, wishing he could just remember already.

"All the time!" Mikey said, grinning once more. "Like the time when I used your sai as a skewer to cook those awesome kebabs. You would have liked them too if you'd actually let me finish cooking them."

Mikey was laughing and obviously enjoying the memory. Raph felt... sad. His face must have conveyed that because Mikey soon stopped laughing.

"Hey.. It'll be okay." Mikey said. "Don says that this was probably temporary and would wear off in a couple of days."

Raph didn't reply, he wasn't sure how to. The idea that he could remember, but not like what he saw.. So far he'd only remembered bad things, like Hun and Karai. He couldn't have had that good of a life if they were always after them, right?

An orange cat walked into the room, stealing Raph's attention. They had a cat? It made its way over to Mikey, brushing itself against his legs before jumping up onto the couch with Raph. Raph frowned at it, wondering what it wanted. It purred and curled up against him.

"Aww.. Klunk missed you." Mikey was smiling like an idiot again.

"Klunk?" He asked, eyeing up the orange ball of fur. "It doesn't bite, does it?"

Mikey shook his head. "No way." He assured Raph. "Klunk is the bestest kitty in the world. Though why it missed a smelly thing like you? No idea. Probably just wants to be with you as you're so warm right now."

Ah ha...

Raph was starting to feel sleepy. Stupid tablets were kicking in. He was trying really hard not to yawn.

"This place is like something out of another world.." He muttered. "Turtles? Cats? What's next? Rhinos?"

Mikey looked amused by what Raph had said, but didn't comment on it. Instead, he went about fussing with the stupid rag, rewetting it putting it back on Raph's forehead. Raph just glared at the turtle, but he seemed to find that even more amusing.

"Still the same old Raphie.." He commented quietly.

Raph was getting to a point where he couldn't stop himself from yawning. He stared at the TV, not interested in what was on it. It was if the people on the TV were so... over dramatic about really silly things.

"Mikey..?" He said quietly.

"Yeah, bro?"

"This show sucks.."

Mikey just burst out laughing at him. "It's day time TV, what would you expect?"

Raph just looked at him.

"But you're right. It does suck. Better not let Sensei hear you say that. It's one of his favourite shows."

"Sensei?"

"Our father, I mentioned him before." Mikey explained. "Master Splinter, Sensei, wise one, and just awesome. Sensei is just teacher in Japanese. After all, he taught us everything we know."

Raph yawned again. "Including how to annoy everyone?"

Mikey grinned. "No way! I picked that up all by myself."

"You must be so proud.." Raph remarked sarcastically.

The conversation was starting to die and Raph just went back to staring at the TV. Slowly, he started to doze. He was vaguely aware of Mikey moving him, making him lay down on the couch again, adjusting the blanket, rewetting the stupid rag... Even when trying to sleep he wasn't left alone. Raph tried to tell the turtle to just leave him alone, but it only really came out in a mumble. The cat was purring softly against him as he drifted off...

Xxxxxxxxx

There were moments while Raph slept when he could hear voices around him, feel someone touch him, or do really silly annoying things like fuss while he tried to sleep. But there was one that stood out from the rest. It wasn't annoying or bad or anything like that. It felt... comforting.

A soft hand stroked his brow gently. It was so familiar, but yet for the sake of his life he couldn't say why. Raph moved a little in his sleep. Gentle, calming words were spoken. But it was interrupted by a series of coughs and worried voices. For one instant there had been comfort that was provided to him, but it was now replaced with worry. He was worried... about something and he didn't know what it was. Or even who for.


	20. Chapter 19: Sandalwood

_(A/N: Not so large a gap. :) Hopefully I can get another chapter up soon._

_I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money for this writing. End of story.)_

**Xxxxxxx**

Raph could feel someone touching him again. It must have been the hundredth time someone had woken him by touching him and fussing, he was sick of it! A low growl escaped his throat, the hands stopped fussing. He felt one move to his neck. In the same place as where Leo had- Oh no! Raph's own hand flew out from under the covers, swatting the hand away from the pressure point.

For once he had woken up not feeling like crap, a little grumpy from all the prodding while he was trying to sleep, but feeling a little better than he had before. One of his eyes lazily slid open to glare at whoever had disturbed him, only to find Leo looking down on him in amusement. Raph couldn't help but groan, annoyed with the turtle.

Speaking of annoying turtles, where was Mikey? He looked around the room. The cat was gone, the TV was off, there were no bowls on the table... It was just him and Leo.

"Did you sleep well?" He heard Leo ask, interrupting his search for the orange turtle.

"Ahh... Sometimes.." He said, his throat feeling a little dry. "When people weren't touching me.."

Leo just smiled some stupid smile. As if his answer was typical. Raph wasn't even sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Thankfully, your fever broke again and is low." Leo mentioned, taking a seat next to Raph.

Raph moved, feeling uncomfortable with being so close to the turtle. He forced himself to sit up. Leo didn't stop him or anything. Good. He didn't want to be told what to do.

"How's Don?" He asked, hoping the turtle actually got some sleep after Raph left.

"Fuming." Leo said with a slight sigh. "He wasn't pleased we had allowed you out of bed. He was less pleased when he had found out he had missed your fit a few days ago."

Raph rolled his eyes. Leo made it sound like his 'fit' was something like an event.

"Next time I'll sell tickets." He muttered sourly just as something clicked. "Hold on.. A few days ago?"

Raph was frowning at Leo. Surely he hadn't been asleep that long, right?

"You've been asleep for a while." Leo explained, unfazed by the amount of time he had slept. "Don was getting worried, but it wouldn't be the first time you had lost a few days when recovering. Sleep is good for you anyway, it helps you heal faster."

Raph wasn't sure if it was as okay as Leo seemed to think it was. Leo didn't seem to be the type to joke like Mikey, so he wasn't trying to be funny, right?

"Raph?" Leo said, obviously sensing that Raph was still a little confused. "Seriously, it's okay. Your fever is down, some of your cuts have healed, and you don't look anywhere near as tired as the last time you were up. The sleep did you a world of good."

Raph nodded slowly, finding himself inspecting himself. Leo was right, some of his cuts and bruises were healing really well. Some were practically gone. Some of the worse injures, like the crack in his plastron, didn't hurt too much when he moved. He was healing, he was going to be okay..

"LEO?" Came a rather overdramatic cry. "Why didn't you tell me he was awake? I could have been cooking him something."

Raph glanced over to see Mikey, looking as if he had been betrayed by the act. Was this guy always so over dramatic and loud? He'd been awake barely five minutes and Mikey acted as if the world was falling apart around him.

"Mikey." Leo hushed. "Splinter's sleeping. How many times must I tell you?"

Mikey still looked like he had been the one who had been wrong, but Raph just shook his head. Splinter..

"Could I see him?" He asked suddenly. "Splinter?"

The soft hand... These turtles hands were rough. Capable of being gentle, but rough all the same. The texture had been nothing like theirs. It was soft. Almost like fur... But he couldn't be sure. He just had a feeling he really needed to see this so called father of his.

Leo was looking at him now, as if unsure of his request.

"I need to see him." Raph said, determined.

In fact Raph was so determined; he was refusing to sit on the couch. He got up. Leo tried to stop him, but he just shrugged the guy off. They can stop babying him now. Leo just sighed.

"Okay.." He said as he got up.

"Hey there sleeping beauty!" Mikey came bounding over.

Raph just looked at the over enthusiastic turtle, not sure how he should respond.

Leo tried to grab his arm, as if he couldn't walk without assistance. Raph pulled himself away from the turtle, nearly tripping over the table in the hasty process. Thankfully, Mikey was there to stop him. He sighed, giving Mikey a small thankful look, but said nothing. His eyes were on a door... He was sure that was where his father was.

It was strange, he felt tense, but calm at the same time as he approached the room. Tense as if there were some bad memories within the room. Though calm as in he knew this was a place he would always find safety and comfort should he need it.

Leo opened the door for them, but neither he nor Mikey followed him in as he walked past them. He looked at them, unsure what this meant. They just gave him an assuring smile in their own way. Mikey even added two thumbs up to his...

Raph looked back into the room, he could see Don by the -It wasn't really a bed, but instead a futon. He frowned. Where had that come from? There were incenses lit within the room. Sandalwood...

Raph's eyes suddenly closed of their own accord and his body moved without thought. He took a few steps forward towards the bed. He kneeled and bowed. It all happened so quickly and so automatically. It was just so natural that Raph felt nothing wrong with it. Though, he was feeling a little light headed. He took deep breathes. In, out, in, out...

"Raph?" Came a small voice.

Raph's eyes suddenly flew open as he realised that he wasn't alone. He had in a way, forgotten the other turtle was even there. He blinked a few times, glancing at the purple banded turtle.

"Are you okay?" Don asked him, looking concerned.

Don reached out to touch him, to check his forehead for whatever fever he might have. Raph caught the hand.

"I'm fine.." He said quietly. "Don't know what that was.. Just felt right.."

Don retracted his arm, giving him a small smile. "So not a memory?"

"No.. Bit like I don't remember how to talk, but I'm doing it."

It was really. He knew how to do things. He didn't remember them, he just knew. This was the same.

Raph looked down at the futon and he honestly wasn't surprised at what he saw. There, in the buddle of blankets, was an elderly rat. His father.. Master Splinter. How could he be surprised, really? After all he had been through. He was just happy it wasn't a rhino.

The rat was sleeping, though he seemed distressed. His breathing was laboured beneath an oxygen mask, and with the occasional cough, he could tell the rat wasn't well. They were both sick...

"Is he going to be alright?" Raph looked at Don.

"Eventually..." The turtle replied. "You both kind of got sick at the same time, but Master Splinter is no longer as young as he once was.. It's taking a little longer to start bouncing back from this. Thankfully, you're starting to recover. We didn't have to have you on the oxygen this time."

Ah...

"You okay?" Raph asked, not really wanting an awkward silence..

"After I recovered from the scare you gave me when I woke up?" He said as he checked a few things. "Almost thought you had done another runner on me..."

That last bit Don seemed to have been mostly talking to himself. He looked.. almost hurt at the thought. But he shook it away and got up. Using the crutches, he headed for the door. Raph followed. He felt bad for that scare he had given the turtle. He felt even worse for the bruises...

"Don? I'm-"

"Forget it Raph. It's okay..."

Raph sighed. It wasn't okay. Really. He had every intension of continuing this conversation when he spotted something that caused him to freak out as soon as they were back to the main area.

HUMANS!


	21. Chapter 20: Confusion

_(A/N: And now the other chapter is up! :D Going back to Uni this week and so is my beta, so there may be some delays. Sorry. . Also a thank you to everyone's well wishes! They always help. :)_

_I'd like to thank Lilninjawolf for betaing for me again! I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed. Much appreciated! =D_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the turtles or make any money for writing stories about turtles but it does give me something to do in my spare time since falling ill.)_

**Xxxxxxx**

Humans... Raph was trying to be calm, but with his last few experiences with humans, he was finding it awfully hard. His heart was pumping so hard, it was all he could hear...

The humans stopped talking to Leo and Mikey, they smiled at him. It made him feel real nervous.

One was a woman. Red head, not really all that tall. The other was a guy. Messy hair, baggy clothes, pretty tall, and grinning at him like an idiot. Like Mikey had...

At the thought of Mikey he felt betrayed. These turtles... They were with the humans all along.

Someone touched his shoulder. Raph jerked away from them, looking at Don. Don... Mikey... Leo... They were all looking at him now. He felt trapped again.. Like when he first woke up here when he thought Karai was his friend. Were these turtles lying to him too?

The humans moved towards him and that was enough. He ran. He headed for the door. He couldn't take this. He thought he had found people he could trust and they proved themselves otherwise. It hurt. Before he could reach the door, Mikey cut him off, appearing in front of him.

Raph didn't stop, he just changed direction. Don was the next one to cut him off. They were trying to talk to him, but he couldn't hear them. All he could hear was the blood in his ears, pumping harder and harder the more he panicked.

Raph bolted up the stairs. He thought he was in the clear when he made it to the top of the stairs, but to his surprise Leo managed to somehow jump up there, blocking his path. Raph went in through the door closest to him, locking it behind him.

Leo was knocking hard on the door, but Raph just stood there in the dark room, leaning against the door, panting hard. Oww.. He had been feeling pretty good. His body hadn't hurt too much, his head hadn't been pounding... It was a nice change. Now? His head ached. His chest hurt from the run, he was coughing hard, making the pain worse. Slowly, he slid down the door onto the floor.

His heart was slowly calming down, but he was still panting heavily.

"RAPH?" Leo banged on the door, making Raph's headache worse. "Open up! Please! What's wrong?"

What's wrong?

"Fuck off Leo!" He yelled back.

"Raph..." Leo said more quietly, more gently this time. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

"Have you been lying to me Leo?" He hissed through the door. "Just like Karai? I don't know what to believe anymore!"

"Raph?" Leo said, sounding unsure. "What are you talking about?"

"The fucking humans you were chatting to!" He snarled, moving away from the door, fed up of this conversation already.

"Casey and April?" Leo replied while Raph went hunting around for a light switch or something. "The two humans... They're our friends."

"Whatever.." Raph grumped back.

He just... He didn't know what to believe right now. How could they be friends with humans? Humans like Hun and Karai? Hell. Even the old lady he had seen probably would have hit him with her cane if he had gotten too close.

"Raph, we haven't lied to you.." Leo started, sounding rather tired. "Casey and April are our friends. They were bringing by some supplies as we haven't been able to leave the lair. Someone has to watch Master Splinter. Someone has to watch you in case you have a fit. We can't just leave Don home alone to watch the two of you again. It's too much for him right now."

Well with Don's foot, ankle or whatever, he wouldn't exactly be the go to for anything physical.

"Just leave me alone, Leo.." He said as he finally found the light switch.

"Did you not hear me, Raph?" Leo said, sounding like he was frowning. "You could have another fit. We don't know what causes them. You could hurt yourself if you had another.."

Raph didn't care; he was too busy looking around the room. It was... interesting. The walls were covered in posters of bikes, wrestling, and even a few movie posters. There was a rather beat up looking electric guitar in the corner with an old amp. He went over to it and ran his fingers over the strings. They made a soft noise, but obviously it wasn't on.

"Raph?" Leo said, obviously not liking the silence.

"Told you to leave me alone!" He snapped back.

"Not until you let me in!" Leo countered.

This guy didn't know when to quit. Raph continued going around the room. There was a weight table and set. He sat down on the end of it as he looked around the room.

"You'll be waiting a long while." He muttered, more interested in the room now then Leo.

There was no bed in the room, but instead a hammock. A red blanket could be spotted in there with maybe even a red pillow. Red... None of the turtles wore red... He frowned a little as his eyes drifted down to the bed side cabinet which had a red mask amongst the mess. It was mostly a mess of what looking to be like weapons and little devices. On a stand there were two mini tritons weapons, like forks. Sai...

"Come on, Raph!" Leo continued, making Raph's headache grow and grow. "Don't make me break the door down!"

Raph rolled his eyes. And he thought Mikey was dramatic. He felt a small pang at the thought of the turtle. He really didn't know what to think anymore.

"Keep your shell on Leo!" He called. "Why do you have to be such a pain?"

He growled a little, annoyed by the fact he wasn't even allowed to be by himself for two minutes. Leo was... Oddly silent for a moment. Raph looked over at the nearby desk. It didn't look like it got used for writing or anything, more of another place to put junk. There was a lot of mechanical tools on it, bits and pieces from... vehicles? He couldn't tell. His head was really hurting now. There in the corner, something caught his eye. Behind a pile of magazines, looked to be the edge of a photo frame. Raph got up and stumbled over to it. Wow.. He was suddenly rather dizzy. It was strange. This room. He felt so calm here, safe. He liked it. When he got to the desk, he picked up the photo.

It was a group picture. There were the two humans from downstairs, Splinter, a croc, a robot, the three turtles and... Another turtle? One there wore a mask of red? With his skin tone. He was with them. He and the guy had their arms around each other's necks, looking like idiots. Mikey was next to them, doing bunny rabbit ears behind his head. The girl was next to the guy on the other side, with Don by her side, standing there with Leo next to him. Splinter stood between them, being that much shorter then them. The robot was next to him and the croc stood behind everyone...

"I didn't think you still had that.." Came a voice suddenly right next to him.

Raph jumped, dropping the photo frame as Leo somehow managed to not only be in the room, but right next to him. There was a sound of the glass breaking as Raph stumbled away from the turtle.

"How..?" He said, confused.

Raph hadn't heard a sound and the door was clearly not broken down, but wide open. He could have sworn he locked that door.

"Ninja." Leo said gently. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, but really Raph. Now is not a good time for you to be alone. And not just because of the fits. There is a lot.. you obviously don't remember. Someone needs to be there for you, to help you untangle things without getting the wrong idea."

"Yeah, well you're obviously doing a great job there." Raph told the turtle as he leaned against the wall, his legs not happy with the amount of use they were getting.

"Sorry." Leo replied. "We didn't think... you would react so badly to Casey and April. But I assure you, they are our friends. They are practically family."

"Why would any human want to be friends with us?" He asked, his voice sounding a little bitter due to his experiences with humans so far.

"They aren't all bad." Leo tried to assure him, though Raph still wasn't sure. "I'll explain a little later, but could you come back down now?"

"This my room?" He asked, looking around it again.

"It is." Leo smiled at him. "Welcome home."


End file.
